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Other Entertainment => Comics / Manga => Topic started by: Spark Of Spirit on August 15, 2011, 01:40:58 AM

Title: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on August 15, 2011, 01:40:58 AM
So what would you guys consider the best manga? Your top 5? Top 10? It could be manga that are superior to their anime adaptions, or manga that are just great as standalone, but what do you consider the best? Mine is obvious, since I always rave about them:

1. Monster

Yeah, you all know this. IMO, a perfectly crafted story on the nature of good and evil without a single ounce of pretension and is gripping from start to finish. It was my friend who lent me the original manga volumes and I was hooked from page 1. Naoki Urasawa has since gone on to create other things (still awesome things, mind you), but Monster is his best and most consistent work still.

2. Rurouni Kenshin

Timeless. A tale of changing times, and what it means to truly change, the manga is filled to the brim with many different characters all coming into conflict with the changing times ahead of them and one samurai who is at the center of this new era. It's a battle manga, but it's more than just that. The characters are all different from each other in their motivations and ideas are all well developed and unique lending to a rich universe and world. If you've never read it before and you read it now, you probably wouldn't even be able to guess when it was made.

3. Bakuman

Yeah, it's recent, but it is easily one of my favorites.

4. BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad

This was a bit longer than I would have liked (there are some parts that are sort of repetitive and drag a bit), but as a whole the plot is engaging and the usage of music in a media without sound is perfect. Definitely one of my favorites.

5. GTO

I'll just list it all as one thing, but this is a very fun series in general. "Delinquent" mangas can be hit or miss, but IMO this is one of the best.


There's also a few that had the potential like Gun Blaze West, MxO, and Yu Yu Hakusho that have certain issues with them that prevented them from really making their mark for me. It's also hard for me to rank manga that aren't even close to ending like Berserk or Vinland Saga. But what about you guys?
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Angus on August 15, 2011, 11:06:48 AM
I haven't finished the best ones yet, but here's stuff I've read or re-read hundreds of chapters of.

Ranma ½ - From the queen of rom-com manga with mix of action and love polygons. Before I knew what tsundere was or redundancy, I was reading this at the library and had a bunch of belly laughs.

Excel Saga – Goofy, delusional, over the top characters. The English version with Carl Gustav Horn set the bar with some of the best manga footnotes around, which means the manga is decently detailed. If it weren't for this series, I probably wouldn't be here.

Oh My Goddess – story's fairly generic but I just love Kousuke Fujishima's art style.

Yotsuba – If you miss Azumanga Daioh, you've probably tried this slice-of-lifer, which is funny 'cuz it's true, and fairly simple presentation.

Initial D – also simple in presentation but a good page turner.

Unbalance x Unbalance – at the start it's a hot teacher-student relationship, but some of the conflicts and situations are nice and dramatic. But it might have jumped the shark after the author went on hiatus for other stuff like Freezing, and went into a more generic plot line. Lots of rom-coms I like from Ichigo 100%, Yume de Aetara, Kimi no iru Machi, Negima/Love Hina, School Rumble, and GE Good Ending.

Yu Yu Hakusho / Dragon Ball - these were good reads even if the anime was much more well-known.

Cardcaptor Sakura - had to throw in my favorite among the Clamp manga, which can be hit-or-miss with the art style.

Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Foggle on August 15, 2011, 11:55:36 AM
Considering I've read, like, 12 manga (and only a substantial amount of about 7 of them), this list will be kind of lame.

Excel Saga - It's funny in a way that absolutely understands my sense of humor. Even disregarding the great art and lovable characters, it matches up with my idea of what makes a good comedy in every facet and has greatly influenced my writing since I started reading it more than 5 years ago. If it wasn't for this series, I'm not sure I'd have ever started talking about cartoons on the TV.com Animation Forum and would probably still dislike anime in general, meaning AR would only consist of the Epic Duo. Also, CLICHE AND STUPID: reading Excel Saga helped me get over being super fucking depressed. True story!

Monster - I haven't finished it yet (REALLY need to, I know), but it's definitely the most brilliant story I've ever seen in this format. Excellent no matter how you look at it.

Berserk - An awesome and bloody adventure that isn't exactly substantial but is a lot of fun to read all the same.

Ichi The Killer - To be honest, I prefer the movie because it also functions as a hilarious dark comedy, but this series is disgusting as hell in the best way possible. Kakihara is fucking awesome!

Sakigake!! Otokojuku - I'm kind of reaching now, I will admit... But this series is really goddamn funny! Everyone should check it out!
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on August 15, 2011, 04:25:54 PM
For me, in no particular order:

Monster/20th Century Boys/Other stuff by Naoki Urasawa that I have yet to read but will get to eventually and love- Because, let's face it, the man is a true story-telling genius.

Rurouni Kenshin- Hands down the best battle shonen manga ever written, period.

Dragon Ball- A true classic that successfully combines both elements of comedy and adventure, and later on becomes more fight-based but has some truly spectacular battles (only in the manga, though, as they lose their intensity due to poor pacing in the anime).

Death Note- I actually like the 2nd half in the manga, even if its inferior to the L arc. At any rate, I love the manga for its intense battle of wits, and I have yet to see another manga outdo it at its own game.

SJG/GTO- Both are great manga, with the first one being more of a gag manga that features Onizuka during his teenage years as a delinquent, and the second series also being gag-based but with more serious undertones featuring an adult Onizuka pursuing the job of a teacher....yet still carrying all of the qualities of a delinquent. Its a series that perfectly blends both witty comedy and drama. Easily one of the most fun manga that I have ever read.

Hunter X Hunter- Yeah, I complain about it a lot and it has its major hiccups, but when its good its REALLY fucking spectacular.

Hikaru no Go- By far the most boring premise for a manga, and yet this manga makes it look like the most interesting thing ever invented. It actually got me so interested that I learned how to play Go myself....though, I really do suck at it....

Bakuman- A shonen manga about how to make shonen manga. What I love the most about this manga is that it fully acknowledges the difference between actual "good" shonen manga versus the "shit" manga out there, which are usually Dragon Ball and Fist of the North Star wannabes with little substance to them. The series does tend to fluctuate in quality but for the most part it almost always keeps me interested in seeing what happens next, and I feel like I learn a lot about the huge process that goes on behind the scenes of writing and illustrating a manga. I think that even those who hate shonen manga would have at least a little bit more respect for the people who make them (the good ones, at least), if they were to read this manga. Its really insightful in many ways, while itself being a fun fictional shonen story.

Full Metal Panic! Sigma- A brilliant adaptation of the novels, so far. If we don't get a new anime season, I'll at least be content that the novels got adapted in some sort of visual form, and in this case its a good one (unlike the shitty manga that adapted the first 3 novels).

I have other favorites, but I'm drawing a blank on them for right now so I'll probably get back to them later.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Insomniac on August 15, 2011, 04:59:27 PM
Anything by Urasawa, on the basis that he manages to churn out consistently gripping work that I can't find in other manga.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on August 23, 2011, 11:08:16 AM
Samurai Executioner by default
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Pharass on August 24, 2011, 08:55:14 AM
Some of my favorites have already been mentioned (the works of Urasawa, Berserk, etc). Aside from those, I'm a fan of:

Lone Wolf and Cub: Kazuo Koike's & Goseki Kojima's seminal samurai manga focusing on Itto Ogami; former executioner of the Shogun who has been toppled from his position by a rival clan and now travels the countryside of Japan, accompanied by his son Daigoro, both of them making their living as assassins for hire. Excellent artwork and gripping stories makes Lone Wolf and Cub without a doubt one of the greatest comics to ever come out of Japan.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: Miyazaki's movie should require no presentation. However, as great as the movie was, the manga is, if anything, even better. Reading Nausicaä I couldn't help but feel a bit sad that we'll most likely never see this manga, Miyazaki's magnum opus, getting the animated adaption it so richly deserves.

Other works worthy of mention are Blade of the Immortal, Vinland Saga and Historie. I fear that I'm too lazy right now to go into detail as to what makes these three so great, the best you can do is too look them up for yourself.

Great manga I most want to read: Adolf by Osamu Tezuka, it's a shame that I can't seem to get a hold of the first volume, since I've heard so much good about it.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on August 24, 2011, 10:41:41 AM
After I am finished with Samurai Executioner, I am on to Lone Wolf And Cub. I've seen at least two of the movies.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on April 21, 2013, 01:26:58 PM
Sorry for digging up an old thread. I decided to list my top ten favorite manga, so that once I'm finished with going through my manga reading challenge this summer, I can come back and compare how my list has changed.

10. Excel Saga

While I haven't read too much of it, I've read enough to know that I love it. Wonderfully quirky characters with some great satirical humor and character based humor, really the kind of series that appeals to my kind of tastes. I wouldn't be surprised, once I read more of it, that it's ranking on my list goes higher.

9. Bakuman

A manga about creating manga. Brilliant! I enjoy the wonderful insights into the world of making manga, and seeing Mashiro and Takagi rise up to be great mangaka. Admittedly, I think the series starts to loose a bit of steam around the 100 chapter mark, but despite some ups and downs it still was very enjoyable right up until the end.

8. Case Closed/Detective Conan

Over 800 chapters, and the series still manages to provide great mystery stories and maintain consistent quality. Always worthwhile to read.

7. Ranma 1/2

Love the characters and the over the top ridiculousness of the manga. While the cast is primarily composed of jerks (save poor Ryoga), they are entertaining jerks and the series never takes itself seriously enough to make you want to hate them. It's not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but I sure love it.

6. Trigun Maximum

While I would say that the anime adaption as an overall experience is slightly better, the manga is still great stuff. Actually, the Gungho Guns and Knives in the manga are much better, well-rounded characters, and Vash and Wolfwood's character development have more complexities to them, so in terms of characters the manga has the better interpretations (save Legato). There is also a sense that a lot is at stake when Vash takes on any Gungho Gun, and while the manga lacks some of the anime's subtlety it makes up for it in sheer scale and intensity. And I have got to say, Vash and Wolfwood v. Livio/Razlo and Chapel and Livio/Razlo v. Eleindra are two of the most intense, brutal, awesome fights I have ever read in manga. Makes me wish for a new anime adaption. But I'm content with the manga for now.

Oh, and the ending is better in the manga too, by the way.

5. Hunter X Hunter

Yu Yu Hakusho has a better plot, but I always see the anime version of that as the definitive version. I haven't seen either anime of Hunter X Hunter , but the manga is still immensely entertaining. I appreciate a more strategy based fighting shounen than the usual power up crazy stuff like Naruto, not too mention the shades of gray in the manga that I rarely see in many other stories, manga or not. While I'm not too crazy about Kurapika basically being written out of the series after York Shin, since he was my favorite character in the early parts, Gon and Killua are definitely the stars of the manga, and Killua in particular is a wonderfully complex and interesting character, and is possibly my favorite in the manga. I wish Togashi would just continue the story already, though.

4. Urusei Yatsura

Many people consider Urusei Yatsura to be Takahashi's best work. While I was skeptical of the manga at first, and not really all that into it for a bit, I slowly became more and more invested in the cast and really love this series now. It's possibly one of the more unpredictable mangas I've read (besides the obvious one), and the humor is always well-timed, and although certain types of jokes are used frequently, they never become particularly obnoxious and are presented in a way that keeps them entertaining again and again. Like Ranma 1/2, much of the cast could be considered jerks, but unlike Ranma 1/2, you get a sense that these characters are really close to each other and great friends, even if they do sometimes get the urge to kill each other sometimes (oh, Ran, you). It's just really hilarious, lovely stuff beginning to end (although I still have 10 chapters left as of this writing  :P). Although I have yet to finish Maison Ikkoku, I would definitely agree it's Takahashi's best work, and possibly one of the best comedy mangas of all time.

3. One Piece

One Piece doesn't excel particularly in it's story, which does re-hash similar elements frequently. However, I love Oda's art and his characters. They aren't too complicated, with quirks that are sometimes used too frequently to get some laughs, but there isn't a single character in the manga that lacks some sort of charisma that keeps me invested in them. Despite the quality of the post-time skip stuff not being up to par, the manga is still a great read for me, and rarely dull chapter to chapter, and as the second manga I ever read, it's made a huge impact on me, which is why it's still one of my favorites today.

2. Dragonball

Dragonball was the first manga I ever read, and I keep coming back to it because of it's wonderful, not too serious adventurous nature. Simply an iconic tale, with possibly the most iconic manga characters to ever exist, with great artwork to boot. While I prefer the portions of the manga that precede the Android arc the most, I still enjoy the rest and the series never experiences the kind of problems I see in Naruto and Bleach in terms of pacing, characterization, and plot. Definitely one of the best manga ever created, shounen or otherwise.

1. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo

Hands down my favorite manga. Sawaii's art is amazingly packed with comedic energy and downright hilarious to look at. Nearly every paged is crammed with jokes, be them visual gags, satire, parody, good old fashioned character based humor, or downright absurdity. Bobobo also boasts the most unique cast of characters I've ever seen in any medium. We have a man made of Jelly, a dog who looks like the Pillsbury doughboy, a man whose head is made of crap, an anthropomorphic torpedo, whatever the hell Don Patch is, and obviously the yellow afro boastin' nose hair wieldin' Bobobo himself. This isn't a manga (or anime) I could recommend to anyone unless I know you have the same sense of humor I do, but this manga (and it's anime) means a lot to me and is definitely still my favorite after all these years.

I'll be curious to see how this top 10 will change once I'm done going through 65+ manga titles within the next four months (that is, if I succeed in doing that  :D). I doubt my top four will change, but you never know...
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on April 21, 2013, 02:42:34 PM
That's a really good list. As for me, I'm hardly that experienced with manga, but a top 10 for me would look something like this:

10. Black Jack (even though I've only read a portion of it)
9. Bakuman
8. Slam Dunk
7. Hunter X Hunter
6. Monster
5. Shounan Junai Gumi
4. Dragon Ball
3. Death Note
2. 20th Century Boys
1. Rurouni Kenshin

As you can see, I really do like a lot of shonen series.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Foggle on April 21, 2013, 03:05:06 PM
OMG CARTOON X I LOVE YOU PLEASE READ MORE EXCEL SAGA :swoon: :swoon: :swoon:

Best manga ever, srsly. http://animationrevelation.com/readables/?p=992
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on April 21, 2013, 08:48:02 PM
Nice list, Cartoon X. In other news, ahh, Shounan Junai Gumi. I forgot to ask EK about the name of that manga so I could get it. I plan on reading that and BladeOf The Immortal next.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on April 21, 2013, 09:13:22 PM
If you want to read that manga (legally), then you'll find it in English, distributed by the now defunct Tokyopop, under the title of Young GTO (they renamed it for marketing value, since GTO is an established name, even if its not that popular of a name).
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on April 21, 2013, 09:29:55 PM
Thanks.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on April 22, 2013, 04:58:48 PM
Shounan Junai Gumi is the best delinquent manga I've read ad GTO is a great expansion of it.

I would probably also add Slam Dunk to my list now were I to expand it.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Grave on May 21, 2013, 02:26:51 AM
Could've sworn I've posted here before. Anyway, my list will probably be fairly short since I haven't read a lot of manga, and nowadays I don't feel like trying out something new so I just stick with Bleach, Naruto and Fairy Tail these days (And yeah, they are giant roller coasters).

1. Rurouni Kenshin
2. Psyren
3. Fullmetal Alchemist
4. Death Note
5. D-Grayman
6. Samurai Deeper Kyo
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on September 26, 2013, 11:29:07 PM
Revised:

1. Monster (The best manga ever made, in my opinion)
2. Rurouni Kenshin (Pretty close to flawless)
3. Vinland Saga (Now that I know where it's going, barring a massive slip-up, I'm sure this will only get better)
4. 20th Century Boys (More expansive than Monster, not quite as focused, but its scope is incredible)
5. Shonan/GTO (Comedy mixed with life lessons and the comedy is funny and the life lessons work!)

Just a top 5 since I need to re-evaluate much again. Slam Dunk, Bakuman, and Beck are still great, though.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 28, 2013, 01:22:22 AM
1. Rurouni Kenshin
2. Monster
3. Death Note
4. 20th Century Boys
5. Dragon Ball
6. Slam Dunk
7. Hunter X Hunter
8. Shounan Junai Gumi/GTO
9. Bakuman
10. Full Metal Panic! Sigma

I expect that Hajime no Ippo will make it pretty high on my list if it manages to maintain its level of quality until I catch up with it. That might not be for a while, though, as I've still got about 500 chapters to go. :sweat:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on September 29, 2013, 01:10:55 AM
I said back in May that after the summer I would come back and update my favorite manga list, and I'm going to do just that. I'll extend the list to be a Top 15, though, just 'cause I now feel strongly enough about that many manga to have a list that size.

First, here are some honorable mentions, in no particular order, because I don't feel like making a Top 20 list  :sweat: :
Lupin the Third
Great Teacher Onizuka
Barbara
Detective Conan/Case Closed
Dr. Slump

And now, my updated TOP 15 FAVORITE MANGA:

15. Death Note

A highly addicting battle of wits with an entertainingly misguided bastard of villain protagonist. I think the 2nd half with Near and Mello wasn't that much of a step down from the L arc, and had plenty of good moments. Still though, the appeal of the series for me was seeing Light outwit L in the first half, and Near and Mello try to outwit Light in the second half, and the extent and stakes they would go through. I don't see how this could be confused for a dark or deep series, since it's pretty clear it's more of a noir, and anyway, the fun is seeing the elaborate schemes be put into action and pulled up, seeing which side would slip up first. I enjoyed it, and am glad it told a tight story and didn't overstay it's welcome, unlike a lot of other manga and anime series. One of these days I'll watch the anime for comparison.

14. Ranma 1/2

I still feel strongly about Ranma 1/2; other contenders have just pushed it down. Still, it's a hilarious manga, with an entertaining cast of jerks who play off of each other excellently, and Takahashi's excellent blend of japanese folklore, wacky comedy, slice of life comedy, romantic comedy, and crazy martial-arts action. Needless to day I'm going to buy the omnibuses of the manga, and the blurays of the anime, when they come out next year. I wish I could go to Comic- Con for the panel too, but alas, it is not to be. 

13. Bakuman

I think parts of Bakuman are a bit inconsistent, like that arc focused on one of Ashirogi's assistants who wanted to draw a manga about his dog, or the second Nanamine arc, but overall the series is still excellent and one of my favorites, and I hope Ohba and Obata come up with another great, unconventional manga like this soon.

12. InuYasha

InuYasha is a good manga. There, I said it, and I mean it. I have read the entire thing twice now within the last year and a half, and while it goes on too long, has some repetitive elements, and some annoying moments, overall it's still a good story. Now, I think InuYasha made for a terrible anime for several reasons not pertaining to the story, but as far as the story went, I liked Takahashi's use of short arcs that lasted only 3-5 chapters, which was refreshing since most shonen series have massively overlong arcs. I liked how the cast was small and frequently crossed paths again and again, while not loosing the scale of the manga at all. I liked that pretty much for the entire manga InuYasha and Naraku were in a power struggle to one-up each other, and neither was significantly stronger than each other at any point in time until Naraku finally completed the Shikon Jewel. I liked how Kagome grew as a character to accept her responsibilities and InuYasha when it came to trusting other people and how both of them matured when it came to their feelings about each other. I liked Kagura's scheming, Kikyo's conflicting feelings towards InuYasha and sense of duty to stop Naraku alone, Moryomaru's maneuvers to try and usurp Naraku, and Kohaku's attempts to atone for what he did and his forgiveness by Sango. And Sesshomaru's character arc, by far, was so completely excellent and he is easily one of my favorite manga characters ever. He's certainly the best "stoic"-type character I have ever seen. Honestly, I went into this manga with an already negative opinion of it from watching the anime and ended up really enjoying it. It's the kind of story that works better when read, and in bunches, and while I had problems with some parts of it, overall I really, really enjoyed it, enough to read it again after I finished it the first time. It's so much better than Naruto, Bleach, Fairy Tail and the other crap it gets compared to, and I blame the suckishness of the anime adaptation and it's rabid fans for the negative perception of it. I'm glad I gave the series another chance as a manga, and Takahashi didn't disappoint me.

11. 20th Century Boys

I haven't even read that much of it, and already I love it. I think that speaks to Urasawa's strengths as a storyteller, because damn is this series a page-turner, and I love the characters. I'm only at volume 6, and I already am really digging where this story is going, so I wouldn't be surprised if this series goes even higher on my list by the time I finish it.

10. Animal Land

Animal Land is an awesome, thoughtful story about survival, family, love, communication, and peace. It pulls no punches with developing it's ideas, no sappy we can all live in peace with the power of friendship crap, and Taroza really tries and thinks hard to find away to keep his family and friends live together peacefully despite the differences in the diets of carnivores and herbivores, and his determination, thoughtfulness, and persistence is admirable. In what other shonen series does the main protagonist, after careful thought, give up on his dream when he realizes it's unrealistic and he has other priorities to care about? It's a well-written series that can pack an emotional punch and I can't wait for the next volume so I can read it.

9. Hunter X Hunter

It may have gone down on the list, but I appreciate the series as just as much if not more as I did before. I wish Togashi would continue the series and write it more consistently, because if it was always at it's best, it could easily be the best thing to ever come out of Weekly Shonen Jump.

8. Trigun Maximum

After re-reading it, I found the final arc a lot less confusing and pretty fucking spectacular, and goddamn does this series have some of the best fights I have ever seen in manga. It's greatest weakness is still clarity, though, as there are still parts of the story where it's confusing as to what's going on, and that, more than anything, is why it's weaker as a story than the anime. If an anime adaption of Maximum were made though, and fixed the clarity issue, maybe even expanding on some parts of the story like Livio and Wolfwood's backstory, then it would certainly be much tougher to decide which story is better, and I honestly could see myself giving the edge to Maximum. Still, clarity problems aside, it's an awesome manga with an excellent story, fantastic fight scenes, and great characters, which is why it's one of my favorites.

7. Monster

Monster this low? Blasphemy! I kid, I kid, I do love this series and think it's a masterpiece, but there just so happens to be 6 other manga that have a tighter grip on my heart. Of course, Monster may very well be the greatest manga of all time just for how excellent it's story is. I'm not sure if it's flawless, since there are moments and chapters that could be removed without detriment to it's whole, but those are mostly nitpicks than legitimate problems. If someone were ever to make a greatest manga list, I wouldn't be surprised if this was number 1. I fully expect it to win first place in the Greatest Manga Series contest, at the very least.  ;)

6. Maison Ikkoku

My favorite love story of all time, because of how well-developed and organic Godai and Kyoko are as characters, despite Takahashi's usual wackiness with her comedy stories. It's got a great cast, with a boatload of absolutely hilarious moments to boot, and the last legs of the story are some of the most emotional, touching material I have ever read in manga. Takahashi best manga? Definitely yes, as far as I'm concerned regarding the quality of this story and these characters. However, and it's with much thought that I say this, it's not my favorite of hers...

5. Urusei Yatsura

My love for Urusei Yatsura has only grown after re-reading parts of it, and watching it's excellent movie and it's anime. Don't get me wrong, Maison Ikkoku is an excellent story, but my adoration for Urusei Yatsura as a comedy manga, and for it's big cast of quirky but well-rounded characters just barely makes this my favorite Takahashi manga. It may have gone down a slot, but if anything, I love it even for than I did before, and that's saying something.

4. One Piece

I must have been on something when I said One Piece didn't excel in it's story, because it's got great stories even if it does follow a loose formula. Alabasta all the way to the timeskip is still some of the best manga I've ever read, and the post-timeskip stuff's quality cannot damage the excellency of the CP9 and Whitebeard War sagas. That said, One Piece's strength really is it's great cast of characters, and I think a big reason why recent arcs have been so uneven is that Oda hasn't managed to remember to balance their personalities and interactions as well as he used to do before the crew got separated. Still, One Piece is still one of my favorite mangas ever and I don't see that changing anytime soon, and I certainly do think it deserves it's status as the highest selling/most popular manga series of all time.

3. Dragonball

I wrote at length about what this series means to me in the Dragonball thread, and I don't want to be redundant, so if you want my thoughts on the series, check my post in there. But even those words may fail to perfectly capture the extent to which I love the series, but I think enough people here enjoy it enough to see why it would be one of my all-time favorites, regardless.

2. Excel Saga

Excel Saga is the greatest social-political-satirical-psuedo philosophical-slice-of-life-sci-fi-action-comedy manga I have ever read. Hilarious, likable, well-devloped characters, great commentary and character interactions. The first 9 volumes are hysterical pieces of comedy and if the whole manga was just like that it would still be incredible, but when the plot kicks in in volume 10 it starts to becomes flat-out amazing and the series continues to get even better and better. The only two things I didn't like in the manga while I was reading it were Umi and Miwa...and then even they became enjoyable as the story progressed! I can't really formulate the proper words to describe how excellent this series is, right now, so maybe I'll come back and re-write this explanation, but you gotta trust me when I say that nearly every volume is perfect and it's one of the funniest pieces of fiction I have ever had the pleasure of reading, and depending on how the ending turns out, I could very easily consider this my favorite manga ever, although it'd still have  tough competition from...

1. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo

Excel Saga is much better done as a whole, honestly, but Bobobo's sense of humor, parody of shonen and in general action series, hilarious artwork, spontaneity, and a little someone called Don Patch still edge it out as my favorite manga of all time. Even with the whole thing not translated, it's still a laugh-riot for me beginning to end, and has been a big part of my life for many, many years now, and will likely be for years to come. Bobobo was probably the first anime and comic I ever read that really got me to laugh, and it's influenced me creatively and artistically as well. Much like Dragonball and One Piece, I will always hold it close to my heart, and treasure my rare out of print stand-alone volume of the series released by Viz all the way back in 2006 until I wrinkle up and die or the pages rot into an indecipherable goop. Whichever comes first.  ;)

So, for the most part a lot of my list stayed the same, but some new series I tried out really endeared me well-enough for me to have to expand the list to a Top 15.  I have a feeling Rurouni Kenshin and maybe even Berserk and Black Cat'll rank high by the time I finish them, and for 20th Century Boys to only grow higher in place than it already is. Of course, I still have a boatload of manga to read and some to revisit or re-read, so for all I know this list could very well become radically different once I reach the goal of reading all 100+ manga on my backlog. I'll be curious to see how this list'll look next May...
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Foggle on September 29, 2013, 01:34:00 AM
Cartoon X, are you by chance a reincarnation of our dear friend Dingleberry from the early days of AR? His favorite manga was also Bobobo, and he too loved Excel Saga after I introduced it to him. :P

I am so very happy to see that you love Excel Saga almost as much as I do. It's more personal for me, though. (Perhaps you read my letter at the end of volume 26.) Oh, and we seem to feel the same way about Umi and Miwa as well. ;) Just a reminder that I wrote this earlier in the year: http://animationrevelation.com/readables/?p=992!

Cool list overall. Very cool to see Monster on it; a true masterpiece. I will be sure to read some of your other favorites in the future.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on September 29, 2013, 01:45:30 AM
Quote from: Foggle on September 29, 2013, 01:34:00 AM
Cartoon X, are you by chance a reincarnation of our dear friend Dingleberry from the early days of AR? His favorite manga was also Bobobo, and he too loved Excel Saga after I introduced it to him. :P

Haha, I'm afraid not. Always nice to hear of other Bobobo fans, though, especially Bobobo fans who also love Excel Saga.  ;D

Quote from: Foggle on September 29, 2013, 01:34:00 AMI am so very happy to see that you love Excel Saga almost as much as I do. It's more personal for me, though. (Perhaps you read my letter at the end of volume 26.)

Oh my god, so it really was you who wrote that letter?!  :joy: I had a feeling it was from some of the stuff you mentioned in it. I'm glad they put it in the volume!   :thumbup:

Quote from: Foggle on September 29, 2013, 01:34:00 AM
Cool list overall. Very cool to see Monster on it; a true masterpiece. I will be sure to read some of your other favorites in the future.

Thanks!  :)
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Foggle on September 29, 2013, 02:12:18 AM
Quote from: Cartoon X on September 29, 2013, 01:45:30 AM
Oh my god, so it really was you who wrote that letter?!  :joy: I had a feeling it was from some of the stuff you mentioned in it. I'm glad they put it in the volume!   :thumbup:
Yuuuup. I'm glad they did too! Beyond stoked to be kinda' sorta' immortalized within the pages of my favorite work of fiction. :iwata:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on September 29, 2013, 09:03:49 PM
This is sort of embarrassing to admit but I did not realize the author of Vinland Saga was also the author of Planetes and that Vinland Saga is his first action adventure story. I thought Planetes (both anime and manga) were pretty great so I think any reservations I had bout Vinland Saga stumbling are probably gone now.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on February 09, 2014, 01:15:38 AM
(https://31.media.tumblr.com/955aecc3e7684b1b1a9ea3c02c314ad2/tumblr_n0qlylIjLW1r6toezo1_500.jpg)


Made a grid for my favorite manga too. No explanations this time. When I update my list the next time in May or something I'll go into details.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 09, 2014, 10:55:59 AM
It's great to see that both AnJ and RK cracked your list. :thumbup:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 16, 2014, 02:22:23 PM
10. Bakuman
9. Slam Dunk
8. Hunter X Hunter
7. Shounan Junai Gumi/GTO
6. Monster
5. Dragon Ball
4. Death Note
3. 20th Century Boys
2. Ashita no Joe
1. Rurouni Kenshin

The only thing holding AnJ from the number 1 spot for me is my current inability to finish the rest of the manga. Once I do, though, you can bet that it'll easily take my top spot. It's just that good.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on February 16, 2014, 10:09:55 PM
Man, your list is always remarkably consistent! Mine's changed so rapidly in less than a year.  :sweat:

I really need to finish Slam Dunk and read SJG sometime. The later is tricky, though, since while it's been completely released some of the volumes are hard to find and the scans have gaps of their own. Still, I should check out as much as I can one of these days since I did enjoy GTO a lot, and SJG is better from what I hear.

As for Ashita no Joe, yeah, it'll probably be my number one too once I can actually finish it. As it stands it's easily my favorite action/story manga by far anyway. It'll only take a little push for me to put it over my "manga comedy trinity" (Bobobo, Excel Saga, and Urusei Yatsura), since I love those three series about equally.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 16, 2014, 10:22:21 PM
That push for me would just be finishing the manga. Though, it also may depend on what you get out of the ending, which once again I don't want to spoil (especially since I hated having it spoiled for me), but I really do love it. It's not just a tremendously exciting and suitably intense climax, but it's also something that you can analyze and that has meaning to it.

AnJ really makes me want to learn Japanese just so that I can finish the rest of this manga AND read the other works of Ikki Kajiwara/Asao Takamori/Asaki Takamori (the dude had a lot of pseudonyms because he wrote for multiple magazines, and apparently was at one point working on 3 different series at once, INCLUDING AnJ, according to Bakuman) which unfortunately are just as obscure as AnJ in the West, and obviously unlicensed and not scanlated.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on February 22, 2014, 03:54:18 PM
 Three hours left until ALL OF EXCEL SAGA IS IN MY POSSESSION! (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=331130553868&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:US:3160) BWA HA HA HA!!!

I swear to god, if I get outbid just before this is over.... :srs:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on February 22, 2014, 06:43:34 PM
ANNNDDDD...it's bought! I now own the entire Excel Saga manga for the fairly low cost of $122.50!

I've been spending waaayyy too much money on manga and dvds lately. After I order the Ranma 1/2 bluray and omnibus, I'm going to have to stop....for a long while.  :sweat:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 26, 2014, 08:56:31 AM
You know, I only just realized that I have Monster and 20th Century Boys' rankings mixed up. Monster should be my #3 and 20CB my #6, but either way both series ate great.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on April 08, 2014, 10:02:04 PM
Slight Update:

10. Bakuman- While it's nothing groundbreaking (the idea has been done before) I just gotta give it credit for opening my eyes to how brutally difficult the world of writing manga is. It has given me a newfound respect for people involved in the business, even I'd I don't like their series in particular. It also gets bonus points for introducing me to my new favorite manga series ever.

9. Slam Dunk- As far as pure shounen sports stories go this is still the standard (AnJ isn't "pure sports," just for the record).

8. Shounan Junai Gumi/GTO- Both series go together. The first is the greatest delinquent manga ever, and the second is probably my personal favorite manga comedy ever.

7. Death Note- It has it's flaws, but damn if it isn't just a really tightly-paced, addicting story, and one which gets bonus points for not wasting itself on trying to be pretentious drivel; the series clearly knows what it is, and mostly only plays up to its own strengths.

6. 20th Century Boys- Perhaps the most "epic" in scope manga that I've read, this is one of the few manga that literally balances well over a dozen characters at a time and actually manages to make them all feel fleshed out and memorable.

5. Dragon Ball- It's a classic that just flat out is given no justice by its much more popular anime adaptation of the latter parts of the story. If you think you have a pretty good idea of what this manga is like just because you saw a bunch of DBZ, then I'm here to tell you....no, you really don't. The manga is a completely different beast in terms of tone and delivery. Toriyama was called a genius of his time for a reason.

4. REAL- May be a bit premature, but this is arguably the most character-driven manga I've read. It's literally a story that only moves based on the characters. There's no large over-arching plot structure. It's just a constant string of character development, and as of 8 volumes in, it has only gotten better as it goes along. Slam Dunk was very much the perfect tournament-style sports series. Despite holding the monicker of wheelchair basketball, REAL isn't a story about basketball or sports, it's a story about people in the most genuine sense of the word.

3. Monster- Do I even need to explain this to anyone here. I'm pretty sure literally every current member of our board has read and is a fan of this series, and it's for obviously good reason.

2. Rurouni Kenshin- I can't escape the fact that, in my heart, I love shounen....when it's done well. Rurouni Kenshin is easily the best thing to have ever come out of Shounen Jump. It managed to avoid the trappings of every other shounen series out there, and instead became a perfect action manga that managed to balance everything out from cool characters (and complex/interesting villains) and fights to insanely good writing and an engaging lore. It's a rare beast that you'll likely never see anything like again.

1. Ashita no Joe- I already did an article on this one, and plan to do several more in the coming months. What I'll say now is that this series is just....made for people like me. Until now, I've never read anything that could constantly transcend it's own age and it's genre to keep impressing me with each and every new page I turned to. Sure, I'm still not done with the manga, having 2 volumes left to go, but of what's out, I've re-read most of it at least twice, and knowing how the story ends via the excellent anime adaptation, I feel confident in claiming that this series is the complete package. It has excellent writing, excellent character development, excellent humor, excellent art-work, and an excellent portrayal of the theme of societal class struggle and a healthy dose of social and sometimes even political commentary AND satire. Even better than that, though, it has kick-ass and memorable fights.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on April 09, 2014, 03:08:35 AM

Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on April 08, 2014, 10:02:04 PM

3. Monster- I'm pretty sure literally every current member of our board has read and is a fan of this series, and it's for obviously good reason.

Except for the members of the board who don't read manga/watch anime.  :D

Your list is looking as consistent (and good) as ever. I must say, I never expected to see Hunter X Hunter drop from your top ten, though I know you prefer the first anime over the manga as it is.

I need to get on finishing Slam Dunk and reading REAL. When summer comes, I'll make sure to plow through them before the other stuff on my backlog.

Quote from: Ensatsu-ken on April 08, 2014, 10:02:04 PM
1. Ashita no Joe- I already did an article on this one, and plan to do several more in the coming months. What I'll say now is that this series is just....made for people like me. Until now, I've never read anything that could constantly transcend it's own age and it's genre to keep impressing me with each and every new page I turned to. Sure, I'm still not done with the manga, having 2 volumes left to go, but of what's out, I've re-read most of it at least twice, and knowing how the story ends via the excellent anime adaptation, I feel confident in claiming that this series is the complete package. It has excellent writing, excellent character development, excellent humor, excellent art-work, and an excellent portrayal of the theme of societal class struggle and a healthy dose of social and sometimes even political commentary AND satire. Even better than that, though, it has kick-ass and memorable fights.

Pretty much how I feel about the series, and why it's now my favorite manga as well.  :thumbup:

Looking back, it's been nearly a year since I posted my first favorite manga list. Since then, it's changed significantly, and at this point only 4 of those are still in my top ten. I'll probably wait a while before I update mine again, since there's a lot of manga I'm planning to finish that could be potential top favorites of mine, and I don't want my list to get redundant quickly.  :P
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on April 09, 2014, 03:33:47 AM
I've never read it.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 25, 2014, 04:09:33 PM
My current top 5 favorite mangaka:

5. Tsugumi Ohba/Takeshi Obata- I love Death Note and Bakuman; not much else to say other than the fact that this duo really knows how to make works that truly stand out.

4. Akira Toriyama- Yes, I've only read Dragon Ball and his various one-shots and short stories like Sand Land, but I'm a massive DB fan at that, and I feel that anyone who judges the series WITHOUT having read the manga is both doing Toriyama and themselves a great disservice; I have a feeling that my opinion of him will only improve when I finally get around to reading Dr. Slump.

3. Inoue Takehiko- Slam Dunk pretty much defined the modern era of shounen sports manga, and to this day I have yet to see any other series execute its formuka better. REAL showed us that you don't even need a formula to make a great series that's always compelling to read, and supports it's long take on the strength of excellent character development alone; and Vagabond shows us that this is an author who can clearly do different stuff, and still be just as interesting and entertaining; of all of the mangaka I've enjoyed reading the works of, Takehiko in particular creates some of the most realistic yet still very identifiable characters that I've seen within the medium so far.

2. Yoshihiro Togashi- Say what you want about him and his notorious laziness, but he's managed to still stay popular despite all of that for a good reason, and that reason is because more than any other mangaka, he ever lets anything force him to compromise on his limitless creativity. As a consequence, his work may not be for everyone, but for those who enjoy the shounen genre and want to see something that can step beyond the scope of your boring, predictable cliches from every other series out there, I'd say that all 3 of his most famous works, Yu Yu Hakusho, Level E, and Hunter X Hunter deliver on that in spades. Not everything that he writes is gold, but when he does get something right, which is more often than not, it stands above and beyond as some of the best written material in the entire genre, IMO.

1. Naoki Urasawa- True, I've only finished 3 of his major works, and have merely dabbled in others so far, but the 3 that I have read and re-read multiple times over are enough to make him my favorite alone. I just don't thing that I've read any other manga with writing as consistently good as Monster, Pluto, or 20th Century Boys, and on top of his writing talent he is also by far one of my favorite artists, which is pretty important considering that manga is such a visual medium. His art truly captures the perfect compromise between simplicity and explicit detail, which is amazing if you really consider just how few mangaka there are that can really do that (the only other one on this list being Obata, but unlike Urasawa, he's not also responsible for the story as well). I feel that my opinion of him will only improve as I continue to read more of his works.

Now, admittedly I'm leaving off Tezuka because quite frankly I've only ever read (and still haven't even finished) Black Jack, but I could easily see him cracking my list once I read more of his work. As for Takamori and Chiba, it's pretty much the same thing, only I doubt that I'll ever get to read anymore of their output unless I just flat-out learn Japanese, because there's little to no chance of them being translated.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on September 26, 2014, 02:00:09 AM
Great list! This is actually a fairly difficult subject for me to narrow down, since there are quite a few mangaka who I really respect and admire. So, I think I'll go for a top ten and try and highlight the ones I feel I appreciate the most at the moment:

10. Kaoru Mori

Mori's love of exotic locales and beautiful clothing shines through all of her work, from the detailed maids' uniforms of Emma to the intricate patterns on the middle eastern garments of A Bride's Story. Her art is strikingly polished and meticulous, with a awing attention to detail, and incredibly expressive and humorous. She really knows how to bring you in and invest you in whole new worlds, showcasing all of their facets and intricacies, celebrating their culture and bringing them vividly to life in a palatable, personal way. Moreover, she creates wonderful romantic fantasies with carefully explored relationships and well-written characters. In Emma, she was a much better artist than a writer, but in A Bride's Story, she's honed her skills to a new level, and is now equally great on both fronts. She's got unique interests in history, idealized foreign settings, domestic life, and strong female characters (oh, and maids. She LOVES maids), and all of these are captured in her work and set her apart from others in her field. There are many writing historical fantasies these days, but Mori is one of the few who doesn't write an epic action-adventure akin to Vinland Saga, but rather a more slice-of-life esque travelogue, exploring the lives of different people, and their efforts to find love and happiness, all interconnected by recurring characters, and a larger story developing in the background. She's an interesting creator, with a unique style and sensibilities, and I have no doubt she will continue to create fascinating, well-written work.

9. Makoto Yukimura

Yukimura has created two great series, both as far apart from each other in content as they could possibly be. Planetes looks to the future, imagining a time when mankind has made space travel easier and there are colonies on the moon, yet man seeks to go ever further into it's depths, and is ultimately a tale of humanity, and a story about love and dreams. Vinland Saga looks to the past, a fictional historical account of the era of danish vikings and bloody wars for land and power, exploring the thin line of good and evil, and a tale of revenge and redemption. What both manga have in common are well-written character arcs, explorations of ideas including what it means to be a human being, what it means to be a good person, what it takes to achieve your ambitions, and what it is one needs to find happiness and fulfillment in their lives. His attention to his characters and their development, and his ability to go against expectations and create unique stories about something more than just their content, rightly earns his works the critical praise and attention they deserve, and makes them stand as some of the best manga I've ever read. I don't know how long or where Vinland Saga will ultimately go, but in Yukimura's hands it will surely be a thoughtful, meaningful journey.

8. Akiko Higashimura

Higashimura is the creator of my favorite currently running manga, the one and only Princess Jellyfish. She is a total otaku, and is not ashamed to admit it, writing about her life experiences and personal misadventures in short ten page biographical stories at the end of each volume. And so, perhaps modeled on her experiences, Princess Jellyfish is about people incredibly passionate about something, be it jellyfish, trains, clothes, etc., and what our interests mean to us, say about us, and how we shouldn't be afraid to express ourselves, and open ourselves up towards other people. The main characters of PJ, the Amars, are young women who are not typcially considered attractive by societies standards, nor do they care for the things society dictates they should, like fashionable clothing or makeup, but rather love something that most people would consider weird. They are looked down upon as nerds and anti-social NEETS with no skills or assets to function in the workforce, and they feel ostracized from society. But through the course of the story, Higashimura shows how people who are passionate about something, even if it's something that some might consider nerdy, can actually do great things, and shows that even people who might be considered "normal," whether it be the major politicians in the japanese diet or a multi-billionare owner of a clothing chain, are all really passionate about something or another unique to them on the inside, and it's through the merging of these passions, and the creation of long-lasting friendships and relationships, that we get by and can accomplish something bigger than ourselves. It's clear the story's themes and messages were influenced by Higashimura's personal experiences in life, as a passionate, nerdy woman herself, and this is particularly evident when reading her autobiographical stories, and her other currently-running manga about how she became who she is as and artist and mangaka today (also another one of my favorite currently-running manga), Kakukaku Shikajika. What I love about KS is not only is it a grounded, realistic depiction of the life of a young artist (and I can personally relate to several of her experiences, be it overbearing art teachers to the sting of rejection from first-choice colleges), but it's also unabashed in showing off both the good and bad experiences of her life, and her strengths and faults as a person, as well as a careful, sometimes painful reflection of past mistakes and regrets, and is something that really resonates with me. Higashimura is simply sublime when it comes to writing personal, character-driven stories, and what's more, has a wonderful sense of humor. Both PJ and KS can make me laugh out loud one second, then devastated at the next, and in a reflective mood right after that. I love her style, humor, and ability to craft memorable, nuanced characters and fascinating down-to-earth stories, and it's criminal that none of her work is legally in print, because I'd buy up volumes of PJ and KS in a heartbeat if they ever did. But right now, I'm just glad to be able to read PJ and KS at all.

7. Yoshihiro Tatsumi

Tatsumi is perhaps the second most published "old-school" mangaka in the west, after Tezuka. And with good reason, since he is one of the most important, seminal figures in the industry, credited with the creation of the gekiga movement. Through his gekiga stories, Tatsumi and his peers aimed to write mature, nuanced stories aimed towards adults. Unlike Tezuka, who was interested in creating stories more for entertainment, while still pushing the boundaries of what he could do with the medium, Tatsumi and his peers wanted to challenge the medium as an artform, and bring it to a new heights as a medium of artistic expression, and not just create commercial, mass-entertainment. The gekiga movement was hence in large part responsible for changing the perception of manga as just kids' stuff, and helped it reach adult audiences, and gain respect as a legitimate art form. You might think of Tatsumi's works, and most gekiga manga, as the arthouse films of the manga world: abstract, nontraditional stories that serve to convey potent and meaningful philosophical themes, sometimes in bizarre, uncomfortable, but always provocative ways. They are fascinating reads, exploring social, moral, and political issues, always a commentary on the state of japanese society, and the melancholy of modern life. But while I love his short stories, it is perhaps his least unconventional, but perhaps most personal, work that ranks as one of my favorite manga. A Drifting Life details Tatsumi's entire career, from childhood to present day, showing how not only the industry of manga changed, but how japanese society changed, over a multiple decade period of time, and all the hardships suffered in his quest to try and evolve manga as an art form, and change it's perception in society. It's a fascinating read, giving insight into both the history of manga as well as that of post-WWII Japan, and cemented my respect for him as an artist, and one of the most influential pioneers of manga. He's still alive today, still drawing and writing fantastic stories, though he remains criminally unknown not only internationally, but in his own country as well. But for my money, he was and still is one of the best, the auteur of gekiga, and a man who's hard work and love for his craft paved the way for the market for modern adult manga.

6. Yoshihiro Togashi

There really isn't anything I can say about Togashi that other members on this board cannot say better. But what drew me to YYH as a kid was it's strong handling of well-written characters, mature themes, and it's subversions of typical action series cliches and storytelling. All the main cast of YYH had a great character arc, and felt like genuine people rather than mere characters. But he has an especial knack to create compelling, layered villains, Toguro being one of the most fascinating characters I had ever seen as a kid and Sensui soon topping him after that. Whereas I felt a lot of villains in other action series were two-dimensional, or cartoonishly evil, characters like Toguro, Sakyo, the Sensui and his followers felt like much more realistic, human characters with better rounded strengths, weaknesses, and developed justifications for how they came to be who they are and why they do what they do. And of course, this is one of the strengths in HXH as well, through the Phantom Troupe, Meruem, and several others. Beyond his ability to craft great characters, though, is his ability to make really unique and interesting stories with interesting concepts. I loved the Chapter Black arc because, rather than do the obvious thing and have new enemies stronger than Toguro show up, Togashi introduced characters who were far, far weaker than any of the demons of the Dark Tournament arc, but just as dangerous because of how they used their abilities. Likewise, this is what makes the concept of Nen fascinating in Hunter X Hunter, because for the most part it means that there is more to battles than just how strong the characters are, but how they can best use their abilities, and are thus hence battles of wit, endurance, and attrition. I also appreciate how he is so willing to change his series, move them into entirely different genres sometimes, in the effort to keep them interesting, and how well he does it. YYH starts off as a gag-manga, then becomes tournament-based, then a more mystery-style action series, while Level E crosses the boundaries of horror, sci-fi, and parody several times, and HXH pretty much encompasses every type of battle-shonen there is. There are certainly nothing like his series, because his series are like so many things at once, and they feel incredibly fresh and unique as a result. I have my issues with his laziness, and feel he's dropped the ball a bit through his inconsistency in writing HXH, which has prevented it from reaching it's full potential, but certainly, he is the best battle-shonen writer working in the industry, and has created two of the best there is, and ever will be.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on September 26, 2014, 02:00:27 AM
5. Takehiko Inoue

Inoue creates really addicting manga. All three of his works are series where I couldn't just read one volume at a time and be satisfied. His works are just really just that engrossing, and what makes them so is the fast pace of his stories and his ability to make you engaged with the struggles and tribulations of the characters. While the characters of Slam Dunk are simple, they are likable and get enough to go through to make you want to see them succeed in their goals, and the matches in SD are all unique, balanced, and intense enough to keep you reading. The final game in SD is perhaps the single best game in any sports manga, showing off the characters at their very best, resolving character arcs, and showing his characters triumph over their greatest challenge ever. The ending of SD reflects the change in his attitude on life, another fascinating aspect about him as a writer. When he started drawing manga, Inoue believed that being the absolute best was the most important thing, and that is reflected in the attitudes of the main characters, especially Sakuragi. The ending of SD is not one of complete victory, but all the characters are satisfied regardless, and have something to continue to strive for. Over time, Inoue had learned that winning is not the most important thing. Experiencing failure allows you to grow as a person, and find ways to persevere and improve themselves. Losing is not the end, but a new beginning. And it is only through bitter failure that one can truly feel the elation of sweet victory. There is a balance; you can only know what it means to truly live once you know how it feels to almost die. This philosophy is prevalent in Inoue's subsequent works. REAL is about people who feel they have lost everything, but come to appreciate what they still have, and find fulfillment pursuing new ambitions and bettering themselves as people. I haven't read too much of Vagabond, but similarly, it's about how to live your life meaningfully and with purpose, focusing on Musashi's efforts to become one of the best samurai of his era, and how he changes as a person. Inoue's explorations of these themes and the human condition make both stories unique and engaging, both moreover his characters are very rich and nuanced, and feel very realistic and human, and often relatable, especially in REAL. In addition to excellent storytelling and characters, the art in REAL and Vagabond is top-notch, and some of the best in any manga; incredibly detailed and subtle, but nonetheless expressive. Inoue is a talented mangaka with an interesting philosophy on life, and has created three very distinct, but exceptional series, all transcending (or, in SD's case, defining) their particular genres, and standing among the best out there.

4. Akira Toriyama

Toriyama was the first person I ever became a fan of. Dragon Ball had a huge impact on me as a kid, and I was obsessed by it, scouring the internet for fansites, checking the official websites every day and reading character and episode bios, and it was through my passion for the series that I discovered sites like Toon Zone, opened up to more action series, learned about and started watching anime, etc. But it also got me into reading more comics, something I didn't really do much of before, and made me especially love manga. I spent my days watching lots of the Dragon Ball anime and reading volumes upon volumes of the manga, and the 18th volume of DBZ was the first volume of manga I ever purchased. When I learned about Dr. Slump, a series that was created by the man who made Dragon Ball, my favorite thing ever, I just had to read it. And this was when I went from just being a fan of Dragon Ball, to becoming a fan of the man behind it. Dr. Slump was like nothing I ever seen before. It was a wild, crazy world with zany humor, diverse characters, several of them being non-human which was something I've always liked, completely unpredictable, and completely different from any cartoon or comic comedy series I had yet experienced. This was when I started to recognize Toriyama's sensibilities, the things he loved to write and draw about, his style of humor, his iconic art style, and made me want to learn more about him. And so, I would always read the interviews and Q&A pages at the end of the early DB volumes and in the middle of the Slump volumes, and soon grew an appreciation for him as a creator and storyteller. In part, one of the big reasons I think I came to love Toriyama was because there were few creators I really saw engage themselves with their work or their fans as much as he seemed to. But also, at a time when I thought people who made tv shows and movies and comics were these special, distant individuals who made these things effortlessly, I saw that Toriyama was just as human as I was, and went through a lot of tough times and worked incredibly hard to create work he could be proud of, and that others would enjoy. I loved how humble he was about his craft, how passionate he was about sci-fi, crude humor, and kung-fu movies, and how he would often poke fun of himself in Slump as a recurring character, which I thought was brilliant and was something I had never seen anyone do before at that point in time, and grew to admire him. He was my hero. He was just a normal guy, who liked drawing but never really thought about being a mangaka until he tried it out, and he managed to find success in his field by creating something wholly original, completely him, and then from there become even more successful and create one of the most influential, popular anime/manga franchise ever made. I loved his simple, expressive character designs, with facial expressions and comedic timing I couldn't find in most american cartoons, and his intricately detailed drawings of automobiles and technological things, and how seamlessly he could draw both simple and complicated things in the same series and create rich worlds of endless possibilities. I started learning to draw from trying to copy his artwork, and I created lots of stories based on what I loved best about his series, and developed characters that ripped off resembled certain characters from Slump, and made a short comic series in Middle School that a lot of people surprisingly liked (maybe because of how weird it was). Toriyama really has impacted and influenced me more than any other person I can think of through his work, and I will always respect and admire him for not only creating what is one of the greatest manga comedies and the "last non-manufactured hit" (as it is apparently called by certain manga editors in Japan) in Dr. Slump, and in creating one of the greatest action/adventure, certainly the most influential, anime/manga in Dragon Ball. My life has certainly been enriched from experiencing his series, and they helped mold me into the person I am today. Thank you, Akira Toriyama. Thank you.

3. Naoki Urasawa

Urasawa and his work has not really affected me, personally, nearly as strongly and emotionally as Toriyama, by any stretch. So, why do I, at this point in time, favor him a bit higher regardless? Because he creates quality work that stands at the cream of the crop of the medium, plain and simple. Not that all of his work is on the level of Monster. His ventures into slice-of-life and comedy seem fairly unsuccessful, since Yawara! is fun but nothing that I feel hasn't been done better, and Happy!, while I've still yet to read it, seems to be unanimously panned by many for it's incessant character-beat downs and repetitiveness. But while Urasawa might lack the cross-genre range other mangaka might be capable of, he is easily unrivaled in what he does best; tightly plotted thriller-mystery series, with excellent writing and a cast of multifarious well-developed characters. He is, perhaps, the best writer in the medium today, and all of his series since Monster have been hit after hit, consistently engrossing and of high quality. It really says something that Billy Bat, his most recent work, is his most interesting yet, though I really must get back into and caught up with it as soon as I can. Urasawa knows how to balance out large, sprawling casts, move his story to several different locations, making his world feel large, the mysteries deep, and shoot out surprise after surprise, shock after shock, and keep tension high and things never predictable. He explores what makes us, as human beings, tick, what separates good and evil, how to change, deal with adversities and impossible odds, and do what's right. They are of course highly addictive reads, and when you start one you find yourself at the end of the volume before you know it and immediately grab the next one on the shelf. The gripping nature of his work is proof of strong, solid storytelling that knows how to make you want to see these questions answered and learn the fates of the characters and whether they'll come out okay, and he never stops surprising you from beginning to end. He's a celebrated mangaka worldwide and his works are rightly lauded and famous, and no doubt he will continue to put out incredible works for the foreseeable future. If you were to ask me which modern mangaka I respect the most for their storytelling skills and ability to make consistently incredible work, it is him, no contest.

2. Rumiko Takahashi

Takahashi. She seems to be a mangaka that people either love to death, or can't stand. I'm not sure why her work draws extreme reactions one way or another like that. Perhaps, it's just backlash from creating consistently uber-popular work, but the kind that a lot of people who go into anime/manga, looking for serialized and tightly-paced action-packed adventures or serious over dramatic stories, just aren't looking for. But I love her work. And I avoided it for a long time, not really knowing who she is, exactly, but not really having a good perception of her two most popular in the west: InuYasha and Ranma 1/2. I could probably write an essay-long retrospective on my history with her works and how I came to love them as much as I do know, and I almost did, but that would be too long so I'll just cut to the chase of why I like her stuff. Takahashi writes unique and creative slapstick comedies, rooted deep in japanese culture and folklore, tackling a whole range of subjects from sci-fi to slice-of-life to martial arts, with romantic subplots and undertones prevalent though often not taken too seriously. But that is not all she is capable of. She is skilled at writing fascinating horror stories, moving slice-of-life tales about working-class people, especially adult women, and can craft brilliant, realistic feeling romance stories that both move and resonate, and of course this is embodied in Maison Ikkoku. Her short stories are unique, diverse, and show off the full range of her creative potential, and Urusei Yatsura is a brilliant comedy, mixing influences from all sorts of different genres, and inventing whole new ones, and it is credited as the first anime/manga comedy series to actively satirize popular culture. It was essentially The Simpsons of manga, and is likewise the most influential modern anime/manga comedy, and just about everything that came after it borrows from it in some way. It's one of the most important pieces of manga history, and while Excel Saga ranks higher as my all-time favorite manga comedy for me, even that series was notably influenced by it, and likely wouldn't have been the same if it had never existed. So Takahashi is a very influential figure. She created the most important anime/manga comedy franchise there ever was, and it honestly puts to shame pretty much all of it's imitators today with how well-written and unique it is, especially on the front of the subtlety of it's characters' development, who had no need to do so in a such a bizarre, off the walls gag manga anyway. She also created the greatest romance anime/manga ever, and Maison Ikkoku is perhaps the single anime/manga series that could truly elicit a physical reaction from me, the first time that I would scream at the screen and jump up in joy whenever something went right for it's characters.

But what do I love about her work, specifically? They are timeless. Urusei Yatsura was a series that actually took me a while to get into, but once I did, and noticed more about it, I slowly came to love it. It's genuinely hilarious, even now, and the ensemble cast is still one of the best there is, Lum and Ataru being rightfully iconic characters. Maison Ikkoku is one of the most human stories, certainly, it is the one I find the most relatable, something that I can rarely say about an animated or comic series, and it has nothing to do with it's romantic elements. I was a pretty unromantic guy. In fact, I never cared for romance stories and always thought they were the weakest elements in a lot of series. But Maison Ikkoku was not just about two people in love, but a story about finding one's way in life and earning one's happiness, and the trust and relationships one forges with people. Beginning to end, Godai's journey to adulthood was fascinating and moving, and Kyoko's slow journey to let go of her past, and embrace what's in front of her was equally powerful. And it all feels so very true to life, and made me care about seeing the characters find happiness, in themselves and in each other. So, Maison Ikkoku pretty much made me, who never liked romance stories, fall in love with one. That's just how well-written it is.

Essentially, that highlights what Takahashi's best strengths as a mangaka are. She creates unique, diverse casts of characters. They are quirky, lovable, sometimes weird, sometimes irritating, but incredibly fun to watch. And she knows how to craft relationships between the characters, give them chemistry with each other, and use their quirks and oddities to craft humorous situations and get a lot of mileage out of their comedic or dramatic natures. Her ability to create great characters is her greatest strength, and is true for all her series. And the other thing that's great about her is her range; her ability to create really dramatic horror stories, to emotionally powerful romances, to wacky slapstick comedy, and her ability to mix all her various influences together to create interesting worlds and unique series. Look at her body of work, and you can see she's never quite made the same exact thing twice (unlike what some people think): a sci-fi slapstick comedy, a serious slice-of-life romance, a horror manga, a sports manga, a action-packed romantic-comedy, a battle-shonen adventure, and a supernatural gag comedy. There are certainly repeated character types in her works, like the rich rival character (Mendou, Mitaka, Jumonji, etc.) or the irresponsible idiot father (Mr. Fujinami, Gendo, Sabato, etc.), but you could never confuse any of her characters for one another, and they are all distinct personalities with their own idiosyncrasies. Her biggest weakness is that she is not necessarily skilled in writing long narratives, preferring shorter, episodic stories, which leads to her often repeating several ideas or leaving some plot related hings stalled for too long, which were things that made InuYasha unfortunately inconsistent in the first half of the series, and earned it it's unfavorable reputation among many anime/manga fans, and to a lesser extent, is something that has annoyed people in regards to Ranma 1/2, since many go into it expecting a serious romance story (it does take itself much more seriously in the beginning, but Takahashi always just wanted it to be another episodic slapstick like UY), and very little really develops on that front.

But, on the whole, I think all her works are well written from a character perspective, and she is adept in creating unique comedy manga and created what is still the best anime/manga romance series there is, and both UY and MI are two of my absolute top favorite series ever, and R1/2, IY, and the rest of her work are all series I'm a big fan of. I love her style, unique characters, sense of humor, and diversity in her work, and she's created series that I don't simply just love, but am obsessed with. Her stuff might not be everyone's cup of tea, for sure, but as for me, they are some of the very best I've ever read, and stories I can come back to again and again and again and never tire of. While her latest work, Rin-ne, is not her at her A-game, several inspired moments as well as her recent short stories show she still has a lot of creative juice left in her, and the potential to create another great work even now. I feel she would be best to write a more grounded, seinin work like MI, but she loves and has always loved shonen, and I can respect her wanting to stick with the genre. Takahashi has created series that have affected me emotionally and personally stronger that most other works of fiction I've read, and characters that resonate as some of my all time favorite characters from any medium, and I have a profound respect and admiration for her creative skill and sensibilities. I know that there will always be people who can't get into her stuff, perhaps even hate it, for whatever reason. But her works are some of my most favorite discoveries I've ever made since becoming an anime/manga fan, and I am proud to say I am a fan of both her and her body of work. My alternate username, LumRanmaYasha, serves as a testament to that. That said, she is still not my absolute favorite mangaka. Now just who else could I appreciate even more than her? Oh, as if you couldn't already guess...
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on September 26, 2014, 02:00:42 AM
1. Osamu Tezuka

Some people might feel it's cliche to consider Tezuka their favorite mangaka. I don't care, because he is mine, easily. For the record, I'm not one of those people who overrate him as an untouchable god-like figure who created masterpiece after masterpiece and created anime and manga. He wasn't that, and people who believe he created anime/manga, or was single-handedly responsible for shaping the medium into how it was today, are wrong. The best way to think of him is that he was the Walt Disney of manga. Like Disney, Tezuka was important and influential, and a great businessman, helping to innovate new ideas to turn the anime industry of Japan into the powerhouse it is today, and creating multiple works and characters that became familiar with mass audiences, entertaining children and adult alike, and establishing anime and manga as not just kids entertainment, but family entertainment. He took influences from those abroad, heavily inspired by the comics of Carl Banks and Will Eisner as well as Disney animated features, as well as those around him, his contemporaries in his field inspiring him to explore new concepts and venture into different genres. There were several other figures, like Tatsumi, Mizuki, Takamori, and the Year 24 group, who were just as important to the evolution of manga as an art form as he was, and the biggest reason Tezuka is the most remembered of his generation today is in one part because he produced the most voluminous amount of work, and he produced the most popular. Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Black Jack...all of these became staple, household names, multi-million dollar franchises, and beloved icons. Black Jack and Astro Boy are still today two of the highest selling manga of all time, and in terms of numbers of copies sold per volume, Black Jack is actually by far the highest. In addition, Astro Boy was the first anime to become well-known and broadcast in the U.S., opening doors for the importation of more japanese animation and comics in the western world for years to come. Though a lot of his work was popular, and he was a household name, that doesn't mean all of his work was great. He made a lot of series, a lot, but most of them are forgotten and unknown in the U.S., possibly because they simply weren't that memorable. And even some of the stuff that does get translated, like Atom Cat, isn't really top-tier work. So, what I'm trying to get at here, is that Tezuka was indeed an important figure who created many incredible works, but he's been elevated to this god-like status by many ans that simply does not reflect the history of the medium or Tezuka breath of work accurately.

So Tezuka didn't "create" anime/manga and I don't love him for that misconception. Why is he my favorite mangaka then? Because his great works remain some of the most innovative, creative, thoughtful, and diverse comics to come out of the medium. Tezuka was an innovator. He was interested in so many things, and he mused on all of these in his work. He tackled social issues, wrote political commentary, explored philosophical ideas and the nature of life and humanity itself. His body of work is full of interesting ideas, concepts, and memorable, iconic characters. He was ambitious, thoughtful, and always tried to push the boundaries of comic storytelling. These innovations did influence how manga looks and layouts are drawn today, and his works still boast more profound and diverse use of panels and the intricacies of what makes a comic a comic to make stories that are truly meant for the page and not the screen, masterworks of their medium. I love how his work always is about something, always thinking about and commentating on meaningful, relevant themes and ideas. And surely, this is why his works still resonate with readers today, because they are absolutely timeless and provide experiences that no other mangaka can rival. Tezuka combines the absurd and real, wacky slapstick with gripping drama, silly jokes with musings on the human condition, and he does this effortlessly. I'd say he was ahead of his time, but that would a disservice to other talented mangaka of his era. Rather, the medium has just devolved from his time, the commercialization and need to pander churning out safe and base crap that sullies the efforts of everything Tezuka worked so hard all his life to prove: manga is a legitimate art form, capable of entertaining young and old, and tell meaningful, thought-provoking stories that can make people think about and reflect upon things in new lights. Tezuka was unrivaled in his love for comics. He drew tirelessly, copiously, putting out an output that blows me away whenever I think about it. He became a millionare in his mid-twenties, but he was driven by money, only his love of drawing, and proving that manga was just as capable as film or literature in effectiveness as both mass entertainment and as art. He died begging for the chance to draw more. He was never satisfied. And sadly, he passed away before his most ambitious work, Phoenix, could ever be completed.

But what did he leave behind? A nation that grew up with his stories and characters, fell in love with them, and great to respect manga much more than their predecessors. The nation was devastated by his loss. He really did, generally, redefine manga, and make it a respectable form of entertainment for the japanese people. There was an essay published after he died that mused why the japanese love manga so much, when foreigners find it strange to see grown adults read them during the morning commute or in leisurely public places, and their conclusion was that nowhere else in the world had someone like Osamu Tezuka. He created work that remains some of the best there is, and in many aspects, he is still unrivaled. There is no one that can match the range of subjects he could tackle, or write the kinds of stories he can, mixing childish, simple drawings with complex themes and messages, and innovative methods of storytelling that simply could only be done in comics and nothing else. There was, and is, no one else like him, and probably there will never be some like him ever again. He was a brilliant writer, a brilliant creator, a brilliant artist, someone truly passionate about his craft so much so that he was the biggest proponent in changing the perceptions of the medium for an entire nation, and his influence is still far reaching today. He is, to me, the best, the ultimate mangaka, boasting a range and body of work of quality and influential series that no other could possibly hope to match, and I admire his passion and knack for drawing and creating great stories to entertain both children and adult alike. Every time I picked up one of his series, I was blown away by how unique and well-done they were, and how powerfully he conveyed his messages in a way that feels at once both old-school, modern, and innovative today. He was a master comic creator, and I've seen no other mangaka match his skill or ambition, and the love for his work shines through everything he did like no other. And so, it is through a powerful combination of respect, reverence, and appreciation, that he is, and will likely remain, my favorite mangaka.

Well, that sure took a long-ass time to write...but yeah, there you go. These are my favorites. I actually could still write a heck of a lot more on why I love Toriyama, Takahashi, and Tezuka, but I think you guys get the point already.  :sweat:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on September 26, 2014, 10:09:12 AM
Good choices, guys. As for Takahashi, I've always liked her pre-Ranma works, but have been left cold by her stuff since then. They just don't compare to me.

My top 10 would be an obvious combination of both of yours, but I would add that Urasawa is easily my favorite. Monster is my favorite manga, 20th Century Boys is close, and Pluto shows tremendous respect for Tezuka while still remaining in his own style. Then there's the weird ambitiousness of Billy Bat and you just wonder what is in this guy's oatmeal. Oh yeah, and his early work isn't half bad either.

I also have to say I've never read anything by Tezuka that wasn't enjoyable on some level. There is no one like him.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 26, 2014, 12:26:07 PM
Awesome list, CX! It really show-cases how much manga I still have to read, but somehow I just knew that Tezuka would be your number one pick. ;)

Out of all of the mangaka on your list that I'm not very familiar with, I really want to get into Tezuka's work the most, myself. His work just seems so up my alley. As for Takahashi, I really should try her earlier stuff. I may not care for Inu-Yasha, personally, but that's a battle shounen series, and her other works are slice-of-life and/or comedies, which is a completely different genre, so I'm sure those could win me over. I used to be a bit of an arrogant prick and just judge her based on one work I didn't like, but later on I realized that would be the equivalent of judging someone like Nobuhiro Watsuki on anything other than Rurouni Kenshin (which, just to out things into perspective, was my favorite manga at the time of that realization, and is still my 2nd favorite manga right now).

I was pleasantly surprised to see Inoue Takehiko so high on your list, but he really is that great of a mangaka. Desensitized, you should REAL-ly check out REAL one of these days. I really think you'd be pleasantly surprised by how refreshing and captivating it is. And what CX said about Inoue Takehiko is completely true, I read that in a translated interview from him, and it's just so fascinating how his own personal changing philosophy on life changed his outlook on manga, and consequentially influenced how and what he wrote.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on September 26, 2014, 01:32:26 PM
REAL is on my list for sure. I enjoy Slam Dunk and Vagabond, so I definitely want to read it.

I also have to agree with Cartoon X and his Makoto Yukimura love. Planetes and Vinland Saga are both pretty amazing works, though I hope the latter doesn't become the next Berserk in length. I want to see more stuff from the man and really do think he should be better known.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on September 26, 2014, 01:40:59 PM
You guys have really good lists! They just keep on adding to my never-ending list more than anything, heh.

I'm just not that well versed in manga as you guys, but Urasawa and Tezuka would definitely have to be my top 2. I'm also a fan of Ohba and Obata's work, for sure.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 26, 2014, 01:47:02 PM
And no mention of Togashi? Shame on you! :burn:

Though, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not nearly as well-versed in manga as CX, either. ;)
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on September 26, 2014, 02:00:32 PM
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 26, 2014, 01:47:02 PM
And no mention of Togashi? Shame on you! :burn:
Well I'm primarily versed in his adaptations, although I really should get into HXH's manga.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 26, 2014, 02:03:15 PM
That's close enough in my book. It's still his stories and writing, just with some enhancements to make it even better in some areas. ;)
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on September 26, 2014, 09:42:34 PM
Thanks for the comments, guys!

Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 26, 2014, 12:26:07 PM

Out of all of the mangaka on your list that I'm not very familiar with, I really want to get into Tezuka's work the most, myself. His work just seems so up my alley. As for Takahashi, I really should try her earlier stuff. I may not care for Inu-Yasha, personally, but that's a battle shounen series, and her other works are slice-of-life and/or comedies, which is a completely different genre, so I'm sure those could win me over. I used to be a bit of an arrogant prick and just judge her based on one work I didn't like, but later on I realized that would be the equivalent of judging someone like Nobuhiro Watsuki on anything other than Rurouni Kenshin (which, just to out things into perspective, was my favorite manga at the time of that realization, and is still my 2nd favorite manga right now).

I think you would really enjoy most of Tezuka's series as well. A good starting point might be Ode to Kirihito, which is a gripping medical drama and one of his most highly acclaimed works. It's only two volumes long, but leaves an impact a lot of long running series can't, in my opinion. It's a good introduction into his seinin and shorter series, and would be a good transition coming off from Black Jack.

As for Takahashi, IY is most certainly the least representative of her work, especially since it's her only battle-shonen series. The first half of IY arguably highlights what she isn't good at as a mangaka, and a lot of it's problems early on can stem from the fact Takahashi was not used to writing a battle-shonen, which normally have fairly long story arcs, but rather generally episodic works with short storylines, which explains the structure and the stalled nature of the status quo in the first half of the series.  In any case, her pre-IY series don't have it's problems, especially MI which is short and consistent in it's plot and character development, and they are just better written and more consistent overall. While I'm a fan of all her series except Rin-ne, which I like well enough but just feel is a kind of series she's done before much better in UY and R1/2, I will agree with Spark that her pre-Ranma series are on a whole other level of quality.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on October 18, 2014, 08:19:09 PM
For anyone interested, the newest episode of the Shonen Jump Podcast (episode 74) features an interview with Takeshi Obata! (http://shonenjump.viz.com/podcast)
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on November 06, 2014, 06:26:55 PM
NOTE: I was going to post this in the Currently Running Manga Discussion thread like E-K did, but then I decided it made more sense to just post it here.

I remember I made a list of my favorite anime endings a few months back, and that hasn't changed significantly, I'm sure. As such, I'll just stick with manga. So, after thinking about it, these are what I consider my Top 10 Favorite Manga Endings:

(Be warned, there will be spoilers in my summaries, so, you know, be wary of that.)

Honorable Mention - A Silent Voice

Because it isn't over yet (the last chapter comes out next week), I can't put it in my list yet. But, even so, I'm positive that it will make my list once I read it. I'm confident it will be an ending worthy of all that has come before, and leave the series off on a high, emotional note.

10. Urusei Yatsura

Spoiler
(http://z.mhcdn.net/store/manga/239/15-366.0/compressed/urusei_yatsura_v15_c366.wb15_st24_pg24.jpg?v=11212351363)
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The anime version ranks a lot higher because the way they present the final scenes and the seiyuu's performances adds an even greater emotional "oomph" to it, but I still love the manga version a lot. Some people don't think it resolves anything. I think these people completely miss the subtext of the events themselves. I can see how the wrap-up is a bit quick for some, and it sorta is, but I really do think the actions speak for themselves, and the characters truly have reached a definitive point of understanding how they feel about each other, and we just didn't need to dwell on those things too much. And that last exchange between Lum and Ataru...short, simple, subtle as it is meaningful...totally classic. It's probably the most iconic ending to any gag-manga out there.

9. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6: Stone Ocean

Spoiler
(http://z.mhcdn.net/store/manga/11765/158.0/compressed/d018.jpg?v=11352945282)
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Steel Ball Run was not initially a part of JoJo's; it was only after the series moved to a seinin magazine that it was rebranded as such. And so, the ending to part 6 was basically how the series was originally intended to end, and for all intents and purposes, it IS the end - to the longstanding rivalry between the Joestars and Dio Brando, and to the very universe of JoJo's itself. And you know what? The villain wins. Enrico Pucci gets exactly what he wanted. As a consequence, Dio got exactly what he wanted. And the Joestar bloodline is forever destroyed. Until...a wrench is thrown into the mix. Jolyne's last act of selflessness, to save the life of Emporio, and the final parting gift Weather Report gave to his friends before his death at his own brothers' hands, both of these things come to bite Pucci right back in the ass. Pucci wanted a world where everyone followed a routine, where they knew their fate and simply lived out their lives following a pre-written script. But because of his very own actions, he experiences retribution for his misdeeds, and ultimately, his philosophy of predetermination and order is defeated by the Joestar's philosophy of free will and justice, and his victory becomes a loss. Some people don't like the ending to part 6. I mean, yeah, it's a bittersweet ending, but it leaves off on an optimistic note, in a new world, Dio's legacy finally destroyed, and the resolution of the themes and story up until this point is brilliantly handled and executed. If JoJo's as a whole really had ended here, I would have been absolutely satisfied.

8. BECK

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The members of BECK went through a long, difficult road to get their band out there, to get people to listen to their songs. They endured so much adversity, doubt, and inner turmoil along the way. There were times when it looked like the band would have to go under, where everyone would have to leave their separate ways. And so, the final concert in the manga. BECK has risen through the ranks to be one of the most popular bands in Japan, and even the world. And the moment they realize just how far they've come, and what they've been making music for, is right here. Right when a problem arises and they can't sing, the people they were singing to starts singing for them. They've delivered what they set out to do. They've connected to people. People around the world. And what greater satisfaction could there be for a musician to hear that? Simply an astounding, rewarding ending on an emotional level, and one that leaves the series off on a bright note.

7. Monster

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If you don't like the ending you just do not understand what Monster was about, at all. But I loved it the first time I read it, and I still do. Tenma made the right choice. He destroyed the monster. He saved a man. That last page...well, it says it all doesn't it? The monster is gone. Sure, it may not be perfect or whatever, but what the hell is? To me, I simply don't see how the ending could be any better than it is.   

6. Cross Game       

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So many brilliant pages I could have picked from the final chapters. I didn't even choose my favorite, because I didn't think it worked well without context, but Ko's final line in chapter 158...sure packed a punch. And then the final two chapters resolving emotional relationships between the characters...all of it is just so rewarding, on many levels. The only thing that could have made it even better was seeing them stand on the mound of Koshien stadium like Wakaba always dreamed, but everything was just so brilliantly handled that I didn't mind.

5. Slam Dunk

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The match with Sannoh is the greatest match in a sports manga I have ever read, and it's conclusion is simply phenomenal. That final pass between Rukawa and Sakuragi is one of my favorite moments in manga, as is the final shot itself. Slam Dunk simply has one of the best endings I've seen in not just sports manga but shonen manga in general, and it might very well be the best ending to a sports manga there is (besides AnJ). Regardless, it's one of my all time favorite endings, and that final game was a tough act that I don't think any modern sports series have even close close to rivaling (though I'd say CG does on the character/emotional aspect).

4. Parasyte

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Oh man, the final fight with Gotoh, Shinichi's decision on what to do, the standoff with Uragami on the roof...Migi's reflections on humanity...Satomi's line to Shinichi after the end of the ordeal...all powerful moments that resolved the themes and character arcs of the series just perfectly, and really moving as well.

3. Excel Saga

Couldn't find any pictures for this, unfortunately, but yeah, I loved the ending. Many great character resolutions and callbacks to earlier in the series. I also loved Shiouji's final line about Excel. There are still things about the overall plot that I am still confused by, but as far as the final chapters of the series go, it went off on a really high note, one worthy of what is my second favorite manga ever.

2. Ashita no Joe

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Probably the most iconic ending of any anime/manga ever, and for good reason. The fight with Mendoza itself is simply incredible, but nothing beats those final moments, the look on the once proud but now broken Jose's face, the scene where Joe gives his bloodied gloves for Yoko to keep, and that final page, that immortal final image of Joe, one that countless anime and manga have homaged for years and years. Simply excellent on all character and emotional levels. But it's not the ending that got the greatest emotional reaction out of me. That one is...

1. Maison Ikkoku

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Yeah, this is my all time favorite in both anime and manga form. Just utterly satisfying on all levels for me, and completely deserving for every character involved. The scene where Godai thanks everyone who has helped him in his life and in the future, and the moment where he and Kyoko they return home with their child, welcomed by their friends, in the place everything began...for me, it was just completely perfect. This is the only ending to an anime/manga series where I legitimately shed tears at. I'm not a romantic, and I don't cry at media that often. The ending of MI was just that powerful and emotional an experience for me. And so, for all those reasons, it's unquestionably my all time favorite.

There are many other endings in anime/manga that I really like, but these are the ones that elicited the greatest personal, emotional reaction from me, and many of these rank as some of my all time favorite moments in manga period. A truly great, satisfying ending can be hard to come by, but in my book, these ones sure as hell didn't disappoint.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on November 06, 2014, 06:49:49 PM
Great list, CX! :thumbup:

Unfortunately I can't read all of your entries because there are some series that I still haven't read and plan to get around to, but of the ones that I have seen, I definitely agree, and as for the rest, I'm sure I'll get to experience them someday.

I interspersed my list with anime because I honestly haven't read quite enough manga with super satisfying endings to fill out a top 10 list, but in additions to the ones that I mentioned in the other thread, here are some honorable mentions for endings that I liked:

Bakuman
Hikaru no Go
Great Teacher Onizuka
Full Metal Panic! (mostly the light novel, but by technicality the manga)
21st Century Boys
Zoids: Guardian Force
Digimon Tamers (actually, now that I think about it, this would replace something on my top 10)
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on November 06, 2014, 07:07:52 PM
Thanks!  :) I forgot to mention it before, but I really liked your list too. A lot of great ones in there, and all of your anime specific ones rank on my favorite anime endings list as well. I also enjoyed all of your honorable mentions that I've seen too.

Even with just manga, I might have been able to make a top 20. Definitely a top 15, at the very least. Though a lot of series do drop the ball towards their ends, there are still a fair amount of very satisfying, emotionally rewarding endings out there.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Foggle on November 06, 2014, 07:21:40 PM
Good to see that you liked Excel Saga's ending. :) Also, it makes me happy to know for the future that Parasyte and Ashita no Joe end well.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on November 06, 2014, 07:34:08 PM
Well, as for AnJ, it's one of those endings that is such common knowledge in Japanese pop culture that it's not even considered a spoiler over there. Hence you have already seen more than one anime that references or pays homage to it. It's like how in America everyone knows the ending to Citizen Kane or Psycho. It's just that iconic. But, beyond that, the actual final match is great as well.

And yeah, I'm also glad to see that Parasyte has a "thematically" good ending, which is to say that the actual ending probably won't be a happy one given the dark turns that CX keeps mentioning for this series, but still a well-written one that ties up the story and closes it out in the most appropriate way.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on December 01, 2014, 05:20:09 PM
Monster:

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I've seen people say that this implies that Johan is still out there. That means Tenma should have killed him! But, I thought it was fairly obvious that wasn't the intention. Especially if you paid attention to how the framing was staged, just like Johan's last conversation with Tenma is staged. It's a reversal of their original meeting at the beginning of the manga when the boy was on the operating table.

In another way, it's also what Tenma does for a living. His job. The patient has been healed.

If you take the ending as Johan getting away, then you've probably missed the obvious symbolism that has been prevalent since chapter 1. Otherwise, I don't see anything to dislike about it. There is no more story to tell.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on December 15, 2014, 09:06:09 AM
My top 10 FINISHED manga (nothing currently running):

10. Ode To Kirihito
9. Shounan Junai Gumi/GTO
8. Death Note
7. A Silent Voice
6. Slam Dunk
5. 20th Century Boys
4. Dragon Ball
3. Monster
2. Rurouni Kenshin
1. Ashita no Joe
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on December 15, 2014, 02:35:54 PM
2. Samurai Executioner
1. Rurouni Kenshin
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: VLordGTZ on December 15, 2014, 05:29:01 PM
5. Dr. Slump
4. Dragon Ball
3. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6: Stone Ocean
2. Maison Ikkoku
1. Ashita no Joe
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on December 15, 2014, 07:40:46 PM
Quote from: VLordGTZ on December 15, 2014, 05:29:01 PM
5. Dr. Slump
4. Dragon Ball
3. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6: Stone Ocean
2. Maison Ikkoku
1. Ashita no Joe

:swoon:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Markness on January 11, 2015, 11:12:05 AM
My current ongoing favorites in order:

1. Nanatsu no Taizai/The Seven Deadly Sins
2. UQ Holder!
3. Akame Ga Kiru!
4. Magi Labyrinth of Magic
5. Berserk
6. Blood Blockade Battlefront
7. Drifters
8. Gunnm/Battle Angel Alita Mars Chronicle
9. JoJolion
10. Hunter x Hunter

My favorite manga in general (These tend to fluctuate a lot):

1. Gunnm/Battle Angel Alita Last Order
2. Nanatsu no Taizai/The Seven Deadly Sins
3. Neon Genesis Evangelion
4. Excel Saga
5. Ah! My Goddess!/Oh My Goddess!
6. Houshin Engi
7. Berserk
8. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders
9. YuYu Hakusho
10. Eden It's An Endless World!
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on January 11, 2015, 11:23:02 PM
Cool lists, Markness! Lots of stuff there I enjoy, and some others I've been meaning to look into for a while.  :)

I'm currently in the process of reading through some things on my backlog, so I'll hold off on posting a new favorite manga list for now to avoid redundancy, but I can post one up for my favorite currently running series as of right now:

10. Kakukaku Shikajika
9. A Bride's Story
8. One Piece
7. Berserk
6. Billy Bat
5. Vagabond
4. Vinland Saga
3. REAL
2. Silver Spoon
1. Princess Jellyfish

Keep in mind I'm listing these series in terms of how much I like them overall. If I were to list them by how good their current (or most recent output) has been, the bottom half would look much differently.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Markness on January 16, 2015, 10:24:02 AM
Thanks, Cartoon X! I forgot about Berserk so thanks for the reminder! I am putting it where it belongs.

I intend on re-reading some completed series myself like Rurouni Kenshin, Buso Renkin, Hellsing, and Trigun so my list of overall favorites could change. There are also some manga I've read online that I love like Kongou Banchou, Ushio and Tora, Ghost Sweeper Mikami, and Nyatto! but I prefer to list series that I physically own copies of.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on January 20, 2015, 06:43:06 PM
...i had no clue berserk was still running.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on January 20, 2015, 06:46:12 PM
Quote from: gunswordfist on January 20, 2015, 06:43:06 PM
...i had no clue berserk was still running.
Running? More like casually grazing on the side of the road.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Daxdiv on January 20, 2015, 07:40:39 PM
He needs to stop getting distracted by IdolM@ster in all honesty.  .3.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on February 11, 2015, 11:57:32 PM
It's been over a year since I last posted a favorite manga list, and over a year and a half where I posted one where I actually posted a list with explanations, so I might as well post an updated version. I'll go with a Top 20 this time since I have legitimately read enough manga I feel very strongly about for that to be a meaningful limit. These won't be elaborate explanations, or anything, but I like explaining what I like about things so I'll give you the jist of how I feel about these:

20. BECK

After watching the anime, I had to seek out the manga and read the remainder of the story, and I loved it start to finish. While I'm not the most knowledgeable person about music, I appreciated the passion the series had for the subject and it's commentary on the state of the music industry. It's also just a really strongly written underdog story about characters trying their damnedest and working incredibly hard to succeed in a highly competitive and fickle industry, where their efforts were not always rewarded and a lot of luck and knowing the right people counted a lot in their ultimate success. The portrayal of music in a soundless medium is absolutely masterful and the intensity and impact Sakuichi managed to bring out in so many of the scenes where he just shows the characters playing an instrument or singing their lungs out is just phenomenal and a brilliant showcase of comics' ability to tell all kinds of stories powerfully even without the advantages television and film have over it. I loved reading the characters' journey, their emotional development and growth over the course of the story, and all the struggles and adversities they conquered along the way. There are other manga about making music I've heard great things about and have yet to read, but if there really exists one that is truly better than BECK, I'll be pleasantly surprised, because it is an ace series and one of the best down-to-earth "realistic" slice-of-life manga I've ever read.

19. Billy Bat

Depending on where the climax of the series goes, Billy Bat could potentially end up as my favorite of Urasawa's works. An intricate plot with layers spanning across multiple centuries and a psychological mystery that never stops surprising, it's some of his finest work to date with everything as ace as you'd expect from a Urasawa thriller. I love the expanded cast of characters and their stories, and seeing how it all ties together building up to something BIG, whatever that will really be (I'm still expecting Urasawa to pull a fast one). Kevin Goodman is also probably one of my all time favorite characters from him at this point too, and it's cool to see a black main character in a manga (main character as in
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. It's more of what you'd expect from Urasawa, but with his most ambitious plot developments, twists and turns, and scope yet, and though the chapters might come out rather inconsistently, I find it a blast to keep up with.

18. 20th Century Boys

Massive in scope, a huge cast of well-developed and memorable characters, and an intriguing mystery tied in childhood memories, nostalgia, and all because someone just couldn't grow up. There are a few weak spots in the series for me in the third act, but those are so minor considering how excellent the story that's told is overall, and how intense a page-turner it is from start to finish. Guta la la, Suda la la.

17. Rurouni Kenshin

A story about change and what it means to change, with one of the most fascinating main protagonists in a battle-shonen with one of the most satisfying character arcs. In terms of handling it's core themes and developing them alongside it's main character's journey to redemption as well as the supporting cast's diversity and development, I'd consider it the most consistently well-written battle-shonen to come out of Jump on a narrative and character level.

16. A Drifting Life

There are many manga about making manga that I like, but Yoshihiro Tatsumi's autobiographical manga is firmly my favorite. Fascinating as a look into the development of japanese society through a multi-decade period post-WW2, showing the development of the manga industry and how it changed over time, and the creation of the gekiga movement and the contributions of several early creators into making manga a medium not simply viewed a juvenile children's entertainment, most unfortunately unremembered today. It's an outstanding record of how far both japanese society and the medium of manga has come from it's lowest points and a respectful celebration of the many forgotten young artists who worked hard to make that happen. It's also a testament to Tatsumi's career and his role in the development of the industry as he's seen it develop from a multi-decade period and the hard work it took for him to achieve his dreams and all the sacrifices, tragedies, and adversities that he struggled to conquer along the way. Consider it's placement on the list also a reflection of my appreciation for Tatsumi's works in general, with A Drifting Life standing as representative of everything that he and his old companions stood for and fought for to help diversify the appeal of manga and make it a respectable art from, and the unconventional and deeply intimate and "human" stories he continues to draw and publish to this day.

15. Vinland Saga

I thought the series was ace in it's first part, but the "Ketil Farm" arc is what truly elevated the series to a whole new level for me. Thorfinn's development from a rage-blinded anti-villain to a true hero who is willing to stand up for what he believes is right and has sworn to a path of no-violence is phenomenal and complemented by strong themes about the value of life, redemption, forgiveness, how far one is willing to go and how how he will go in order to achieve his ends, among others. I highly appreciate the direction the series has gone and the story it's told and I'm sure the series can only continue to get even better from here as Thorfinn and co. embark on their risky journey to colonize a new land.

14. Vagabond

A story about what it means to be strong and what it takes to be strong, how far you'll go to reach the top and for what you are fighting for, Takehiko Inoue creates another phenomenal manga exploring the human condition and the development of Musashi from a fight-hungry thug to a respectable and honorable swordsman and human being. It boasts some of the best artwork I've ever seen in any comic and is a fascinating interpretation of the story of the most legendary japanese swordsman and their respective growth in skill and fame, all building up to when their paths cross once again and they have their ultimate clash at Kokura (which will presumably be the climax of the series).

13. REAL

That said, this is my favorite work of Inoue's. A highly realistic and down to earth treatment of it's subject matter with three very moving central protagonists, who all have suffered different tragedies and adversities in life, but all ultimately find a common passion in wheelchair basketball. With well-defined and nuanced characters with powerful stories and great development through the course of the story, it's exemplary of the kinds of stories you are far more likely to find in manga than in american comics, handled maturely and expertly while never feeling didactic or forced in it's messages. An excellently written and purely character-driven series that shows people overcoming adversity in admirable and awe-inspiring ways, with their shared passion for a sport they love tying their stories and lives together, while giving them hope for their futures, and bettering themselves as people.

12. Silver Spoon

Silver Spoon is not just a manga about the intricacies and behind the scenes aspects of farming, but at it's core a story about maturing to adulthood and working hard towards achieving your goals in life whatever they may be. Life is not easy and the characters are faced with many obstacles, self-doubts, and personal struggles in their endeavors, but through Hachiken's outside outlook and way of thinking both him and his friends slowly are able to stand up and resolve themselves to do what they are passionate about and do whatever it takes to achieve their dreams. Hachiken is one of my favorite manga characters ever. He is smart, but not naturally smart, but rather because he works hard and applies himself to everything that he does, and even then his efforts don't always pay off and he doesn't have all the answers, both literally and metaphysically. But at heart he is a good person and is willing to take on risks and help other people without hesitation, which earns him respect and friends to support him, helps him expand his horizons and grow as a person, and become more sociable and confident in himself as the series goes on. I love the growth of all the characters and their series and their efforts to earn their futures with their own hands rather than go with the flow of things and against any odds in their way. It is a phenomenal series and by far my favorite ongoing shonen manga, and second favorite ongoing manga period, and though it pains me waiting for a new chapter because of how sporadically they come out, when they do they never, ever disappoint.

11. A Silent Voice

Geez, what do you expect me to say about ASV that I haven't said so many times before? A tightly written and powerful story about the consequences of bullying, the effects of social ostraziation, redemption, what it takes to forgive and be forgiven, the value of friends and trust in other people, and so, so much more developed astoundingly well in a complete and self-contained story with no extraneous elements and little to no weak moments or questionable writing to speak of. Every character is well fleshed out and shown to be three dimensional and sympathetic people with understandable reasons for being how they are and behaving the way they do, and the story takes no easy routes and goes full out with exploring it's concept while never becoming unnecessarily dark nor straying from the core and ultimately optimistic messages it wants to portray. It could have easily been a didactic and over-indulgent PSA, but instead it proved to be a profound, introspective, and extremely moving series that made for one of the greatest experiences I've ever had following a currently running manga series that I'll always remember fondly. I will say confidently that this was the best shonen manga if not the best manga in general to have come out this decade so far and I'll be shocked if much if anything can unseat it from that honor. And even if something does, it'll still unquestionably be remembered in the future as one of the best manga ever made.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on February 11, 2015, 11:57:59 PM
10. Princess Jellyfish

A story about how we are all a little bit nerdy and awkward about something or another on the inside, but how our passions and sharing those passions brings us together and inspires great things and lasting relationships. Princess Jellyfish is a brilliant exploration of what makes people who they are and how everyone, no matter their outward appearances and behaviors and interests, share the same insecurities, desires, and passions as anyone else and if given the chance has something unique that only they can offer to the world and those close to them. It's about opening yourself up to people, sharing your triumphs and failures with them, and working together to create something only you can for both yourself and the people you care about and who care about you. Often funny, often emotional, and often inspiring, it's firmly my favorite currently running manga and until it ends it'll most likely stay that way.

9. Monster

What makes a man a monster? Does he become one through the experiences he has, or is he one from the start? Monster asks this question and through an intricate and complex story of eschewed memories, forgotten pasts, and lost histories ultimately comes to a meaningful conclusion. Moreover it's the story of a man who struggles with figuring out how to do the right thing, and what it means and takes to do the right thing, and by the end of the series, he's found his answer. Monster is on everyone's list here and if it isn't it's probably because you haven't read it yet, and I'm sure most love it for much the same reasons. It's a masterful work with possibly the most fascinating antagonist and one of the most endearing protagonists to ever come out of any manga, and it is near universally beloved for good reason.

8. Barefoot Gen

Gen is an ANGRY manga. It does not hide how it feels about what was happening to people in pre and post-WW2 Japan, specifically Hiroshima, and all the shit that people went through. It yells at the top of it's lungs "FUCK YOU!" time and again at those at blame for the war and it's consequences and is solely concerned in dealing with the struggles of the people in Hiroshima and the devastating consequences of the atomic bomb. It is a semi-autobiographical work based on the mangaka's own experiences living through that hell and reflects his anger and resentment towards those times strongly. It is because it is based so tightly in reality that the events portrayed in the manga are so horrifying, sickening, and depresssing. These things happened to those people, people behaved like that, they suffered like that. But they also endured like that. In spite of it's subject matter Gen is not a pessimistic series. While even up until the end things never truly get better for the main characters, the overall tone of the series is optimistic. It shows the perseverance of those people. How they clung to life and fought their damnedest to get by and support their families. It doesn't always work out. Lots of people who try to forward ultimately have their lives end tragically and not on their own terms. At many points some are broken so much they do give up and try to end it all. But Gen never gives up. No matter what happens, he remains strong and decides to keep living forward in honor of his fallen loved ones, and live a good life for their sake. He inspires other people to do the same and fight for their lives and to improve their lives and get by in the toughest and most desperate of times. It's a powerful and awe-inspiring tale of determination and what humans can be capable of in even the most bleak of circumstances. And the way it portrays the consequences of the atomic bomb on ordinary, innocent lives in a genuine and blunt manner holding nothing back not only makes it not only one of the most convincing anti-nuclear weapon messages in fiction but one of the most convincing anti-war stories as well. Inspiring as it is tragic, as emotionally fulfilling a read as it is painful too, it's a true masterwork and even if only half of the series was published in it it's easily the most potent and important story to ever come out of Shonen Jump, and is a politically-driven historical commentary the likes of which you will never, ever see anything like it in modern manga period today.

7. Phoenix

Tezuka's most ambitious work, an eclectic series of tales spanning across different time periods all connected by the presence of the titular Phoenix and the karmic suffering of the character of Gao through multiple reincarnations and generations. These stories rank as some of the greatest Tezuka ever wrote and all were building to a climax that, sadly, he was never able to write before he passed away. But the resulting work still stands as a strong anthology series that stand as a proud accomplishment for Tezuka as a master of his medium and as a storyteller. Every story is unique and tells a fascinating story with messages that will be forever pertinent and all in all you could make a case for any of them to be one of the greatest single volumes of manga ever, though my vote (and most others) is firmly on the fifth story, "Karma," which is perhaps the pinnacle of the entire series (and I wrote about why in length in the Greatest Story Arc list iyrc). All in all it's one of Tezuka's greatest accomplishments in his career as a mangaka and a definitive work for both his body of work and the entire medium as a whole.

6. Buddha

That said, my love for Phoenix is slightly edged out by Buddha, which has the advantage of being a complete story. Buddha is a true epic in every sense of the world, with a vast cast of characters with intricate relations to one another, but what truly sets it apart is how it portrays the development of the Buddha and the creation of buddhism, and Tezuka's incisive and insightful philosophical and religious commentary. Buddha is about figuring out what is the right way to live and how one should live, whether it's right to harm another, and how one might find spiritual fulfillment and happiness in their lives. The story, characters, artwork, layouts, everything in the series is Tezuka at his absolute best and it all works together and builds as one solid and fluid story with a strong end. Phoenix might represent his legacy better, but for me Buddha is his most complete and best work.

5. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

JoJo's is everything I ever wanted in a fighting series. For one thing, it's fights don't simply come down to who is stronger than the other, but are more psychological battles requiring finding out the nature of your enemy's ability and outwitting them. The best moments in the series are often not straightforward battles but rather the creative situations and battles of wits that define most of the encounters. Most aren't even fights in a traditional sense, but stuff like card games, rock paper scissors, horse races, and beetle wrestling or situations like getting dragged into a fairy tale story, relieving a past event and trying to escape the inevitable tragedy that happened in it while saving innocent lives, or slowly transformed into a snail due to an after effect caused by your rouge friend's ability in which light rays have been refracted in a way that hypnotizes you into subconsciously thinking you are a snail and thus physically trans-morphing into one and then immediately getting hunted down by swarms of bugs that eat snails. You know, stuff like that. You don't get stuff like that in other battle series, at least not to the extent of creativity and bizarreness that JoJo's exhibits time and time again. But it's not just a fighting series. There are great characters, the artwork is wholly unique, and the underlying mysteries and stories for the best parts are incredibly engaging. My favorite parts, Stone Ocean and Steel Ball Run, are incredible in the depth of their stories and their character development alongside the great attributes that make all of JoJo's as special as it is. And each part is strong enough to stand on it's own, so it's like 8 diverse manga all in one. Stone Ocean and SBR alone would both rank in my top ten, but together, alongside all the other parts of JoJo's, they all add up to being a firm top 5 favorite for me. It's everything I've ever wanted to see in an action series of any kind and offers more than enough substance at it's best alongside it's consistently fantastic scenarios, stories, and memorable characters. Araki keeps it fresh by essentially changing what kind of series it is every part, so it could potentially go on for many more arcs and still not lose steam, and I would likely enjoy every second of it. Firmly my favorite Shonen Jump manga and battle-shonen manga period. (NOTE: Though JoJo's is currently running and hence should technically be my favorite ongoing manga, I'm evaluating JoJolion separately from the previous parts, and on those terms that's behind some of the other currently running series on my list.)

4. Maison Ikkoku

The best example of any story where the main couple does not get together until the very end that I've ever seen, this is certainly Rumiko Takahashi's most accessible and mature work and it is rightfully acclaimed as one of the definitive works in manga romance genre if not the definitive work in it period. It is my favorite romance story not just in manga but generally, but one of my all-time favorite protagonists in Yusaku Godai and a story that clicked with me on a level no other romance series or many series in general have ever done before. More than just being a manga about finding love, it's a manga about living life and what it takes to earn respect, happiness, and mature as a human being. It's given me some of the most cathartic and emotional feelings I've ever had reading a manga or watching an anime and the ending is so satisfying for me it is solidly my favorite in the medium. In spite of this, it's not my favorite work by Rumiko Takahashi, but as you can see from it's placement on my list it means an incredible deal to me all the same.

3. Urusei Yatsura

The definitive manga comedy. As in, every manga comedy since has borrowed from tropes, character archetypes, gags, and elements established in it and it's immediate imitators. I love this series so much. Even if it's not my overall favorite, it's probably the one I've been most obsessed with and most passionate about for a good while now. It's inventive, unpredictable, has a unique and creative world full of all sorts of possibilities and capable of doing any concept or story, with an large and iconic ensemble cast with distinct personalities, quirks, and relationships that make this series the special and inimitable gem that it is. Every time I go back and read a chapter I find myself loving it even more. UY is a series with far more soul, passion, wit, and creativity behind it than the bulk of standard anime/manga comedies these days even scratch the surface of, and while it I know it might not appeal to everybody as strongly as it does to me, it's the most I've gotten out of an anime/manga comedy franchise by miles and anime/manga in general by a considerable degree as well. But there is one individual manga comedy I do like a slight bit more, at this point in time...

2. Excel Saga

While UY means more to me and is probably my all-time favorite anime-manga franchise, I consider Excel Saga to be is the most well-written manga comedy I've read. Rikdo writes some of the wittiest and most clever dialogue and humor I've ever read in comics and it clicks with my sense of humor expertly. But what's even better is his case of characters, all of which are likable and uproarious and fun to watch in all sorts of shenanigans and antics. The story that develops in the series is pretty interesting and surprisingly complex to boot, but that's just a nice bonus to the consistently great humor and character interactions it provides. It's a damn shame the digital releases are no longer available, but I'm glad to own every volume on my shelf and be able to enjoy the series over and over again and laugh out loud each and every time.

1. Ashita no Joe

Joe is a series that astounded me by how well-executed it was. Not that I ever underestimated it, but because I have so rarely seen the story it told done so well and so effectively, with a character so fascinating and inspiring, going through tough times that felt relatable and were handled delicately and maturely. It's Joe and his journey, his development from a rough punk from the slums to one of the most beloved people in his community and one of the most skilled and respected boxers in Japan, that really makes the manga for me. He's complimented by other great characters, from Danpei to Yoko, who are all endearing, fascinating, and well-written in their own rights. Joe is a story that meant something to the people who read it in Japan way back when. It was a story that reflected the nature of the troubled times and the hope for success and a better future. It also means something to me. For me it's a story about being obstinate about doing what you love to do (in a good way) and the goals you want to achieve and willing to do anything and risk it all in order to win. I felt for Joe. I cheered him on, I slapped my head when he made a mistake, I felt as devastated as he did when he was at his lowest point, and I felt the energy, the passion, and the drive that characterized his story from beginning to end. I might not gush and obsesses over Joe as much as I do UY, but it edges it out as my favorite because of the character of Joe and his story; where he began, what he endured, believed in, and where it all lead him. It resonated with me on a level that no other manga and few other comics have quite matched, and my appreciation for it grows every time I go back to it. It is unquestionably a classic. Firmly one of the definitive works of the medium. And it is my favorite manga.

(https://41.media.tumblr.com/abbfe64896295d9747880d7196628506/tumblr_njn9n0kS3o1r6toezo1_500.jpg)

Welp, that's my new list! It's interesting how only two series from my original top ten list I first posted in this thread way back when, Excel Saga and Urusei Yatsura, are still on here. I suppose that just reflects how I've read exponentially more series in the last two years than I ever had before, and that rate will probably just continue to grow considering how voluminous my backlog is. There are stuff I'm currently reading or have heard great things about that I think have the potential to crack my top list too, so it'll be interesting to see if it changes significantly again the next time I post one.





Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on February 12, 2015, 12:45:22 AM
great list! you were a bit harsh on american comics though.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Foggle on February 12, 2015, 01:01:21 AM
Great list! And I'm so glad you love Excel Saga as much as I do. :e_hail: :h_hail: :el_hail:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 01:09:34 AM
Awesome list. It's cool to see both Vagabond and REAL in the top 20, and you know that we both agree on AnJ! :thumbup:

Quote from: gunswordfist on February 12, 2015, 12:45:22 AM
great list! you were a bit harsh on american comics though.

Oddly enough, I've slowly been trying to get more into American/Western comics, myself. As much as I love manga, I don't want to limit myself to comics from just one culture. Hence why I've been reading Knightfall (which is excellent, BTW) and plan to get back into The Walking Dead, soon.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on February 12, 2015, 01:16:32 AM
Thanks, guys!

Quote from: gunswordfist on February 12, 2015, 12:45:22 AM
great list! you were a bit harsh on american comics though.

Really? If it came across that way, I certainly didn't intend it to. I love comics from lots of different cultures!
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 01:23:29 AM
I didn't seem to notice any comments knocking American comic books, myself.

That said, while I don't generalize anything based on culture, I will say that I generally prefer independent comics (like The Walking Dead) or stand alone stories (like Watchmen) to the more heavily serialized stuff from Marvel and DC; not to say that there is no great content there, but rather that the independent stuff is more accesible for me.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on February 12, 2015, 01:25:11 AM
no problem then. :)

i used to think manga was too weird and/or cliched to get into but reading enough of it changed my mind.

also, i need to get back to reading the walking dead myself. it has been 2 years since i've read a comic of any kind. new volumes of american vampire are calling me...
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Markness on February 12, 2015, 09:12:02 AM
Epic list, Cartoon X!  :e_hail: :h_hail: :el_hail: Out of all the ones on your list, I've only read Rurouni Kenshin, Vinland Saga, JJBA, and Excel Saga so I need to step up my game. The lists I have seen here are certainly more diverse than what I have witnessed on other forums.

I really like 90s comics but it feels like a lot of people hate them.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 09:15:12 AM
Really?

I thought that there were supposed to be a lot of classics from the 90's.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Markness on February 12, 2015, 12:54:52 PM
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 09:15:12 AM
Really?

I thought that there were supposed to be a lot of classics from the 90's.

I've read a lot of posts from various forums saying things like "The 90s was the dark age of comics!", "Rob Liefield fucking sucks!", "Too many gimmicks!", "Crossovers suck!", and the list goes on. I don't let those things stop me, though.

90s manga doesn't really get any serious bashing and you certainly won't see me bashing it. Battle Angel Alita and Eden It's An Endless World! have some of the best art in manga, period.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Foggle on February 12, 2015, 12:57:31 PM
Quote from: Markness on February 12, 2015, 12:54:52 PM
I've read a lot of posts from various forums saying things like "The 90s was the dark age of comics!", "Rob Liefield fucking sucks!", "Too many gimmicks!", "Crossovers suck!", and the list goes on. I don't let those things stop me, though.
I actually agree with all those statements, but there are still plenty of excellent 90's comics out there, even in superhero land. Like, well, Knightfall, and Joe Kelly's Deadpool run. :)
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on February 12, 2015, 12:57:43 PM
It's nice to see someone else here is a Beck fan, too. Not to mention someone else who really enjoys Vinland Saga. Good list all in all, you even have most of my favorites in there!

A good chunk or Urasawa, too.  8-)
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 01:16:28 PM
I believe that Infinity Gauntlet was also a 90's comic.

Also, as for the list, aside from Urasawa, I also like CX's Takehiko representation. He's such an underappreciated mangaka. Yes, Slam Dunk is excellent, but many people seem to ignore that he has two other very high quality manga that are still currently running.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on February 12, 2015, 01:19:33 PM
Every era has good comics. You just have to know what they are.

But if we're talking mainstream superhero comics, then the argument could be made. But that's only one type of comic. And it's a type of comic that has very much fallen into irrelevance these days.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 01:24:46 PM
Would you happen to know what era has a good chunk of superhero comics in a similar tone to AEMH or TSSM? Because I totally want to read those.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Insomniac on February 12, 2015, 01:27:04 PM
The new Ms. Marvel.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Foggle on February 12, 2015, 01:30:45 PM
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 01:24:46 PM
Would you happen to know what era has a good chunk of superhero comics in a similar tone to AEMH or TSSM? Because I totally want to read those.
The Ultimate Spider-Man comic book is basically TSSM with slower pacing, and the sequel series with Miles Morales is a really good new version of the same concept. I haven't read either in years but I remember them being extremely good.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on February 12, 2015, 01:32:57 PM
Spider-Girl and Blue Beetle. Neither run anymore if I'm not mistaken.

EDIT: To be specific, I'm talking about pre-New 52 Blue Beetle. I think the New 52 one was canceled as well.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 02:30:04 PM
I've heard good things about both, and I've really been wanting to read more stuff about Blue Beetle.

As for USM,  I read the first few volumes quite a few years ago and liked it quite a bit, but I am interested in checking out the stuff about Miles Morales.

Though, in the subject of the 90's, while I can't speak for Western comics, it certainly was a great decade for manga, wasn't it? The list of classics are almost endless. Just off the top of my head:

Yu Yu Hakusho
Level E
Monster (most of its serialization)
Rurouni Kenshin
Slam Dunk
Dragon Ball (Namek arc)
Hajime no Ippo (at its peak)
Shounan Junai Gumi
Great Teacher Onizuka

Plus there's more stuff that I still haven't gotten through or started reading yet, such as the later JJBA arcs and City Hunter, among other things.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on February 12, 2015, 02:31:36 PM
Those are all superhero comics I've had on my own backlog for a while. They all seem really up my alley, I just need to find some copies and read 'em.

Thanks for your comments, Markness and Spark!

Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 01:16:28 PM
Also, as for the list, aside from Urasawa, I also like CX's Takehiko representation. He's such an underappreciated mangaka. Yes, Slam Dunk is excellent, but many people seem to ignore that he has two other very high quality manga that are still currently running.

I've seen his works get plenty of attention from well-read manga circles, but I suppose it's true that they aren't as talked about by the general manga fandom that primarily read the newer and most popular/mainstream titles. As for myself, I love REAL and Vagabond intensely, and find them on a level above Slam Dunk, though I am still a big fan of that series.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 02:43:29 PM
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on February 12, 2015, 01:27:04 PMThe new Ms. Marvel.

Somehow I missed this. Thanks for the recommendation, I'll be sure to check it out. :thumbup:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on February 12, 2015, 02:48:50 PM
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 02:30:04 PM
Yu Yu Hakusho
Level E
Monster (most of its serialization)
Rurouni Kenshin
Slam Dunk
Dragon Ball (Namek arc)
Hajime no Ippo (at its peak)
Shounan Junai Gumi
Great Teacher Onizuka

+

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Parts 3-5: (Stardust Crusaders, Diamond is Unbreakable, & Vento Aureo)
Berserk (the Golden Age arc)
Ranma 1/2
Sailor Moon
Eagle
Detective Conan
Parasyte
Ghost in the Shell
Master Keaton
Uzumaki
H2
Basara
Boys Over Flowers
Battle Angel Alita
Banana Fish
Rokudenashi Blues
Hell Teacher Nube
Ghost Sweeper Mikami
Ushio and Tora

...Among others I've read or heard good things about.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on February 12, 2015, 03:01:48 PM
Spider-Girl I particularly liked because it felt like the obvious next step for Spider-Man and it had a lot of good story turns and ideas. Also, it has an actual ending, which is nice.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 03:01:57 PM
For some reason I always thought that Parasyte was an 80's manga.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on February 12, 2015, 03:03:58 PM
It started in the late 80's but most of it was serialized in the 90's.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on February 12, 2015, 03:25:58 PM
i hear both 90s comics started a lot of bad trends in addition to having a lot of great titles so it's kind of weird and hard to tell what the general opinion of the era is.

as for 90s comics, some of my favorites are scud the disposable assassin and deathstroke full cycle. if there's one good thing the 90s did for western comics, it's assassins! lol
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 04:27:19 PM
Also, I wanted to talk more about it earlier, but I also felt like beyond just being a damn well-written manga, Ashita no Joe managed to affect me on a personal level. I'm sure that applies to many people's favorite works of fiction, as that's why it's their favorite. That doesn't mean that everyone will get the same mileage out of it that CX abd myself did, but I still do consider it to be an essential read.

What resonates with me most about the manga is it's specific approach to the theme of moving forward with your life, despite past circumstances, tragedies, or failures. Yet, whereas most shonen manga glorify thus development as nothing but growth with no major setbacks or consequences, AnJ feels a bit truer to life, in that the path of Joe's growth as a character is not a smooth ride to the top, but a rocky and even dangerous hike through peaks and vallies, as Joe's life goes through various highs and lows, which is ssomething that I can really relate to.

What's particularly interesting about Joe is that he's a character who has a tough time letting go of certain aspects of his past, which depending on which point of view that you look at it from, is either a major strength or flaw if his character.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on February 12, 2015, 04:37:42 PM
Man, that really is a cool list, CartoonX! I really need to read more manga.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on February 12, 2015, 04:40:07 PM
cx's list really makes me want to read more manga. it's inspiring because of the number of subject matter that was talked about and how some of the titles clearly moved him.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 12, 2015, 06:00:47 PM
CX's list also reminds me of some manga that I need to pick up again.

Quote from: Avaitor on February 12, 2015, 04:37:42 PMMan, that really is a cool list, CartoonX! I really need to read more manga.

I'm using it as a reference point fir some manga that I still need to read, myself.

Incidentally, I still try to use your top 25 Marvel stories list as a reference point, as well. I just don't really have mych money to spend on comics, though (I'm considering subscribing to Marvel Unlimited if it's a good service, though).
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on February 12, 2015, 06:14:02 PM
i tried starting on his list as well. i didn't get around to reading thor in time. maybe next time.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on February 13, 2015, 12:06:47 AM
One of these days I'll make a revision of that. I'll also consider a similar list for DC and Vertigo (separate ones for them, of course), but there is much that I need to get around to first.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on February 13, 2015, 02:17:44 PM
that would be wonderful! my favorite comic book is under the vertigo label.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on April 28, 2015, 03:05:55 PM
Seven Seas has licensed Franken Fran and are going to release it in 4 omnibus volumes starting next February! (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-04-28/seven-seas-licenses-dark-parody-manga-franken-fran/.87619)  :swoon:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on September 16, 2015, 12:08:32 AM
I thought I'd cobble a list of the top 10 SJ series that I've really enjoyed over the years. But this won't just be restricted to manga: I'll also include anime adaptions if they improve on the original source material I'll specify the version I'm listing when I write it down. Keep in mind, I also haven't read/watched a lot of series in a looooong time, so I probably won't end up ranking them here no matter how great they are. So, without further ado, here's the list.

Top 10 Shonen Jump series:


1. Rurouni Kenshin (manga) - I do think of this as the ultimate shonen before every manga had to be about high school kids. Action, adventure, romance, good vs. evil, memorable characters up the wazoo, and an ending that nails everything down, Rurouni Kenshin is the total package. Sure, Watsuki will probably never top it, but then, no one else probably will either.

2. Dragon Ball (manga / "Dragon Ball" anime) - This was the one that made me a fan of anime and manga in general. What has surprised me is how well the first half of the manga has aged and how Toriyama kept it fresh for so long. Though I'm not crazy about the post-Frieza material, it's still one of the best for a reason.

3. Slam Dunk (manga) - Slam Dunk is pretty much THE sports manga and anime, but besides the awesome games and the funny comedy is a set of characters you learn a lot about whether in their personal lives or just why they enjoy he game so much. It also makes you empathize with them and really root for the team to make that last basket. This is a level that sports manga rarely ever explored and why so few of them can match up to Slam Dunk. It's not just about how cool the game is.

4. Yu Yu Hakusho (anime) - As well recorded in our current discussion thread, YYH holds up exceedingly well. While the last arc isn't quite up to the genius of the rest, it isn't enough to bring down the quality (unlike the manga) and gives the series a very satisfying conclusion. Usually when I think of battle manga, this is the series I compare them to.

5. Bakuman (manga) - A manga about making manga that also a pretty good "battle" manga of its own. A colorful cast of characters, a story that never really stops throwing curves at you, and a great ending that will have leave you thinking about how stories can truly change everything, Bakuman is and probably always will be one of my favorite manga.

6. Kimagure Orange Road - There are few shonen romcoms I feel standout, but this one practically invented them all and still remains the benchmark for me. If they can't reach this level, I just can't read them for long.

7. Death Note - Though it falters a bit in the second part, it doesn't change the fact that the first half and the ending are about as good as thrillers can get. Nail-biting from start to finish with a great character dynamic, Death Note is great. Even if there is a faction of fans out there that continue to miss the point and idolize a mass murderer. But that's hardly the work's fault for that.

8. World Trigger - For what started as a very straightforward sci-fi manga quickly developed into a smart battle manga with an interesting world, characters, and setting, and backstory, that gets me more eager to read it every week. Its pacing is pretty on the mark, too.

9. My Hero Academia - Yes, it's very new with only a year of chapters under its belt, but it just keeps getting better. If it keeps the pace up, it'll probably end up climbing far up the list.

10. Psyren - I'm not sure why I like this one as much as I do. It might be the old saying that execution is everything because Psyren never really falters in its storytelling except for the final rushed arc because SJ wanted to end it earlier than the story called for it. Otherwise, it's just a very well made series.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 16, 2015, 12:43:40 AM
Excellent list!

10. I liked what I read of it, but it's been so long that I'll eventually have to start from scratch and read the whole thing.

9. I loved the beginning. Then the Sports Festival arc happened, which I didn't like. It has slowly been winning me back with the improved material since then, though.

8. I do really need to continue this one.

7. It's flawed, but I will always love it. This was the first manga that I ever read, and when the writing was good, it was a top quality series.

6. I need to read this.

5. Love it. I still prefer Death Note, but Bakuman is amazing.

4. This is still the best of the genre when it comes to anime adaptations. I don't care what anyone else says. That's just fact. But while the anime is superior, make no mistake, it's still Togashi's brilliant writing at the core of this story that makes it so compelling. He provided the anime staff with the perfect template to work from....except for the Three Kings arc. But, don't ever deny Togashi credit for Chapter Black.

3. Sports and comedy at its finest. This is only Takehiko's third best manga, and it's the best of its kind. It really says something about how insanely talented this man is.

2. I'm more than half-way through re-reading this manga, and it's astounding how well it holds up. People who have only ever watched the anime really do have a misinterpretation of how brilliant this series truly is, and how well it flows in its original format. It's also my second favorite SJ manga, and Toriyama really is a true master if his craft. Additionally, the Buu saga is excellent in its original format. As someone who used to hate it myself, it does wonders to re-read it with a different mindset. What's truly amazing is how this manga goes on for so long and maintains a consistently high level of quality throughout. It only ever falters during the Cell saga, and even that arc is still ripe with memorable, iconic moments.

1. I don't even need to say anything, here. I agree with you wholeheartedly. Rurouni Kenshin is to Watsuki what The Godfather is to Puzo; it may be his one and only true hit, but it will always stand the test of time as a masterpiece of its genre.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on September 16, 2015, 12:54:45 AM
Damn....I assumed Puzo was this great author with a library full of great works. Flipped my world right upside down.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 16, 2015, 01:09:27 AM
Nah, He couldn't even get most of his other books to sell decently. The Godfather was what he struck gold with.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 16, 2015, 12:44:41 PM
Just for fun, I'll do my own list, but stick to manga since YYH would be the only superior anime adaptation from WSJ.

10. Yu Yu Hakusho
9. Hikaru no Go
8. Eyeshield 21
7. One Piece
6. Bakuman
5. Hunter X Hunter
4. Death Note
3. Slam Dunk
2. Dragon Ball
1. Rurouni Kenshin

JoJo's might make it on there once I finally get back to it, and if Parts IV and VI are as good as I've heard.

Also, while I prefer the anime, I still maintain the opinion that YYH is a great manga up through the end of the Chapter Black arc. Three Kings really does hurt its overall status, though, far more than Greed Island does for HXH, or the Cell saga does for DB.

As for Eyeshield 21, it's probably my third favorite sports manga behind AnJ and Slam Dunk (REAL is Slice of Life more than sports, IMO) for how unique and hilarious it is. It has a cartoon style and sensibility to it, and while Slam Dunk also has lots of comedy, I admire how ES21 just goes bat-shit insane and creative, and it's refreshing to see a sports series that doesn't ever take itself uber-seriously. It has its dramatic moments, to be sure, but the majority of it is just brilliantly nuts. Whereas something like KnB can be almost unintentionally funny at how over the top it is because it actually tries to take itself too seriously, ES21 relishes in its ridiculous nature for pure entertainment value, and that's why I love it.

One Piece would have been higher, for me, but the post time-skip content has dragged it down a bit in my overall rankings. The legendary run that it had between Water Seven to Marineford will still cement it a spot as one of the best of the genre for years to come, though. Anyone who wants to dismiss the series without having seen its best content, though....well, it's only your loss.

I'm pretty much in complete agreement with Desensitized about what my three favorites are.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on September 16, 2015, 01:32:01 PM
Also good choices. I debated including HnG and E21 on my list, but they just missed the cut. I also have to read/watch a lot of series I don't have on there such as City Hunter and OP I haven't read or seen enough of it to give it a rank.

HxH is just controversial enough to not make my list, but I do admit it deserves the fanbase it has. Even if a lot of them are pretty nutty about it.  ;)

I would be interested in seeing what CX would put up as his list.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 16, 2015, 02:44:24 PM
Yeah, I can understand how its inconsistent quality can be a turn-off, and I despise most of the fan-base, myself. However, I'm a sucker for great writing in the form of interesting characters and intriguing story concepts, and when HXH gets it right, which is more often than not, it does it better than any other shonen that I've seen or read, and that's saying a lot.

As for controversy, though, the first quarter of the Chimera Ant arc with all of its needless shock value is the only part that I outright see as controversial. Any other problems with the series are just the result of poor writing. But like I said, the good far outweighs the bad, for me.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: VLordGTZ on September 16, 2015, 09:32:22 PM
I haven't read that many SJ manga, but from what I've completed/caught up on:

1. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
2. Dragon Ball
3. Dr. Slump
4. Hunter X Hunter
5. One Piece

I've really enjoyed what I have read of Shaman King, Gintama, and Rurouni Kenshin, but I feel that I haven't read enough to fully judge them.  I plan to go back to them eventually when I find the time.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 16, 2015, 09:34:17 PM
Damn, Dr. Slump is another one that I have to get back to. So much stuff on my backlog.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on September 19, 2015, 07:53:14 PM
Looks like I missed this while I was absent. Great lists! I'm a fan of every series you guys have mentioned, though I need to read more of Eyeshield 21, and finish the manga for Hikaru no Go.

Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on September 16, 2015, 01:32:01 PM
I would be interested in seeing what CX would put up as his list.

I shall oblige. Though, like Dr. E-K and Vlord, I will stick just with manga. I have different preferences when it comes to watching anime and reading manga that don't just have to do with the quality of the adaption, which leads to many series ranking higher on one and lower on the other, so there's no real way for me to merge the two.

Top 10 Favorite Weekly Shonen Jump Manga:

10. Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma

I've read my share of cooking manga, but Food Wars! somehow always manages to keep me invested in the characters, floored by the food, amused by the comedy, and constantly guessing about where the story will go and continually surprised when it does something I never expected. The series really hit it's stride with the Fall Classic arc, and has been a non-stop ride of fun ever since, somehow always managing to one-up itself with each passing arc. For pragmatically six months straight this year, I've ranked each new chapter as my #1 chapter of the week on the weekly surveys. And that's no mean feat, since plenty of other series in Jump were really strong around the same time as well. But Food Wars! has been on fire these past two years, and has so much momentum going for it right now that I'm constantly finding myself impressed and enamored with it, and with the recent developments in the latest chapters, I think it's just only going to get better from here on out.

9. Assassination Classroom

Assassination Classroom is a very deceptive series. Both in the way it starts out, to it's characters, and the way it develops it's story. At the beginning most might think of it as a comedy, but really, the series encompasses a whole slew of genres and tones, and is a character-driven narrative above all else. The series very deliberately sows seeds for character development, twists, and revelations right from the very beginning, and it's amazing to go back and see how everything all comes together as the series goes on. Like Food Wars!, it always keeps you guessing, and knows just the right moments in which to execute a bold twist or a great character moment. And while I can't say that every student in Class E is memorable, the series still manages to characterize a wide body of characters and keep them relevant and memorable, and really a build a bond of community within Class E that's really endearing. And characters are really it's biggest strength, especially regarding it's central two, Nagisa and Korosensei, both of which have easily become two of my top favorite anime/manga protagonists of all time. Nagisa's development in the series is especially amazing, as the traits that might make Nagisa uninteresting at the beginning of the series soon get explained and utilized in a way that transforms him into not just a dynamic, multi-dimensional character and the heart of the series, but also kind of a badass. Like Food Wars!, Assassination Classroom has been consistently one of my most favorite manga to keep up with these last two years, is constantly getting better and better, not losing even a speck of momentum. The series is currently heading towards it's endgame, and depending on how it ends, I have a feeling that my opinion of the series will only grow higher, and it will cement itself as not only one of my most favorite Shonen Jump series, but also one of my most favorite manga in general.

8. One Piece

I've been a One Piece fan for well over a decade. It was one of the very first anime and manga I've read, and alongside Dragon Ball, one of my earliest obsessions. For maybe about 5 years, I was a huge OP superfan. Even just until a while ago (as you can check by going back to my previous favorites lists in this thread), it was still one of my most favorite series. Not so much anymore. I almost went on a multiple paragraphs rant about why I feel distant with OP these days, but I'll save that for another time. But to sum up; for a variety of reasons, I don't feel very passionate about One Piece these days. Even when it's good, and I think it is still good far more often than it is not, I just am not invested in the story and the characters the way I used to be. But OP, at it's best, still boasts some of the cream of the crop of battle shonen arcs. The first half of the series, especially that glorious 300 chapter run of Water 7 through Marineford, cements it as one of the all time greats for both Jump and the battle shonen genre. Marineford is not just one of my favorite manga arcs of all time, but also my most favorite arc from any Shonen Jump manga ever. Maybe if I were to re-read the series from beginning to end, like I did recently with Dragon Ball, I'd rekindle some of the passion I had for it back in it's prime. For now, though, my reduced enthusiasm for it prevents me from ranking it any higher at this time. Still, very few of the following series have ever truly provoked as much passion from me for them as OP used to back in the day, and even though it's a series that I've fallen out of love with, it's still a series that was incredibly important for me, both in terms of getting me into anime and manga and for personal reasons, and the only series I've ever been more passionate about and made me more obsessed with it in my life have been Dragon Ball and Urusei Yatsura, and I will never forget that.

7. Saint Seiya

Saint Seiya isn't something that I'd expected I'd love as much as I do. It's very fighting-focused, has fairly simple characters, the arcs follow the same basic formula, and there are many Jump battle manga I'd call better written on the whole. But, few series are as purely fun and make me as childishly enthusiastic about them as Saint Seiya has and did while I was reading it. It is pure old-school shonen fun, back up by lovable and awesome characters, sick over-the-top fights, and a genuinely intriguing overarching story that's a lot of fun to see unfold. The final arc in the series, the Hades arc, is excellently written and is a string of one brilliant moment after another, all building up to a bold conclusion that ends the series off on one hell of a high note. So yeah, it might have it's flaws, but damn did I love reading this series, and it's made me itching to watch and read just about anything in the Saint Seiya franchise ever since I finished it (Omega aside, since everyone I've talked to says it blows).


6. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo

I used to consider Bobobo my favorite manga, but I eventually knocked it down after coming across series that I felt stronger towards, as well as coming to the realization that I come back to the anime of the series much more than I do the manga. But don't get me wrong, I still love this series to death. While not one of the most best drawn in it's earlier arcs, Bobobo is pure insanity and I love just about everything about it, from it's eclectic and colorful cast of characters, batshit anything-goes world, to it's hilarious satire and parody of battle shonen series and their tropes and conventions while using them itself in structuring it's story as a vehicle to keep the jokes rolling and the laughs coming in a non-stop train of madness that just gets crazier and crazier. It's not for everyone, but it's definitely for me, and I can come back to the series time and time again and still get as much out of it as I ever have. The stand-alone volume Viz put out back ten years ago that contains the entire Hallelujah Land arc is the single volume of manga that I've re-read the most times (as can be evidenced by the sheer amount of wear and tear on my copy, lol), and one of my all time favorite volumes of manga in general. It kills me that even after a whole decade after getting into it, I still have never been able to read the ending because there exists no scans or translations for the series past the Third Maruhage Empire arc, and at the rate the scans are releasing I might have to wait a decade more to see the series fully translated, unless I learn japanese. Still, this is a series that I never tire of even though I must have gone through it a dozen or more times, and it will likely continue being a series I can keep coming back to for a laugh and a smile for as long as I live.

5. Slam Dunk

Series like Cross Game tend to be more appealing to me as far as sports manga go because of their focus more on character drama than the excitement of long, drawn-out games, but Slam Dunk is the biggest exception. It's success comes from great art and pacing that sells the intensity of the games, as well as well-written, lovable characters that might not all get much development, but have distinct characterizations and feel like three-dimensional people regardless. It's fun, funny, fast-paced, and exudes passion for both the sport of basket ball and the classic shonen desire to win against the odds. But if nothing else, this series sticks with me for that simply godly final game. The Sannoh match is hands down the best game in any sports manga, shonen or otherwise (with the exception of the Joe v. Jose Mendoza fight of AnJ, but I always see the fights in those series as fist fights first rather than sports matches), and despite being six volumes long, the sheer intensity of the game, the desperation of the characters and their drive to win, pushing themselves past their limits, and paying off on series-long character arcs and relationships. It a level of quality that I've never seen rivaled in any other sports match in any other manga, and it probably never will be. It's a lightning in the bottle match and arc from a consistently great series, and what cements it as the definitive work in it's genre, and one of the greatest series to ever come out of Jump, sports manga or otherwise. 

4. Rurouni Kenshin

Everything I could say about Rurouni Kenshin has already been said multiple times by multiple people on this board, so there's not much for me to add. It's a brilliant story about clashing ideologies, changing times, what it means to change, to do what's right, and be a good person. Supported by strong characters that represent different perspectives and offer moving character arcs and lovable, endearing personalities, and highlighted by emotionally-driven action sequences and well-balanced comedy and romance, Kenshin is a rare beast the likes of which we may never see again.

3. Dragon Ball

I've gone on length discussing how important Dragon Ball is to me. (http://animationrevelation.com/forum/index.php?topic=1036.msg54889#msg54889) It is the one piece of fiction that I believe truly influenced my life in a transformative way, and who I became as a person. I would now be the same person I am today, probably wouldn't even be posting here right now, if I never got into Dragon Ball. It changed the way I looked at action series and animation, and stories and characters. It got me into anime, Toonami, and my obsession with the series led me to discover Toonzone and various other animation fan sites and blogs. Beyond just having a profound influence on me, it's a masterfully written and drawn action-adventure epic that eases in and out of many concepts and evolves into something so completely different by the end, but reads so fluidly and effortlessly that it somehow all feels natural. Nearly every moment in this manga could be considered iconic, something that you can't say just about any series. When I last revamped my favorite manga list, I took out DB, having not re-read it in a while and thinking that I just loved other series much more now. I was dead wrong. Resurrection F inspired me to go back and re-read both of Toriyama's classics, and reading through it again, I remembered just why this series meant so much to me all over again, and just how deep I loved it. There is no way this isn't one of my favorite manga; it's one of my favorite things that has ever been a part of my life. But I owe even more to the man behind the manga, Toriyama himself. Which brings me to...

2. Dr. Slump

Akira Toriyama is the first person I ever became a fan of. After I got into Dragon Ball through the various anime, I very quickly discovered the manga, and began absorbing the series through that as well. Around the same time, Viz had started publishing Dr. Slump, and recognizing Toriyama's name, I started reading it as well. And very soon, I was a Toriyama fan first, and a Dragon Ball fan second. Re-reading the series after all these years, and then immediately re-reading Dragon Ball right after, I love both series dearly, but now find I hold Slump in even higher regard than I did before. Dr. Slump, more than Dragon Ball, is 100% Toriyama. It best captures his talents as a mangaka, as well as his interests in sci-fi, monster movies, automobiles, silly puns, and crazy scenarios and characters. As much as I love DB, Dr. Slumpis even more creative, even better drawn, even funnier, and the passion Toriyama had for the series never falters from the beginning to end. Much like how Urusei Yatsura is easily Rumiko Takahahi's most creative and personal work, so is Dr. Slump. And it was Dr. Slump, and the comments from Toriyama that detailed his creative process and all the hard work that went into making the series throughout the years, which inspired me and made me start to draw, which led me to find my calling in life. As a fan of Toriyama, Dr. Slump to me represents both his creative peak and the series that best represents him, and why he's a master of his craft, and is otherwise one of the greatest manga comedies and manga in general ever made.

1. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

JoJo's didn't and won't ever truly resonate with and influence me as powerfully as One Piece, Bobobo, Dragon Ball, and Dr. Slump, and it never will occupy a place in my heart the same way those series do. But it captures everything I've wanted to see in a fighting series ever since I first got into them. It's extremely creative, crafting unique powers and interesting scenarios, and the way fights play out are almost always about strategy and tactics rather than sheer power. Many stand fights take the form of mini mysteries, whereas others still take the form of games or battles of wit. The characters are all fun, iconic, and memorable. While they don't grow much in earlier parts, later parts have some phenomenal characters arcs. I love how the series also changes genre in each arc to, being a gothic horror tragedy in part 1, world-traveling battle manga in parts 2 and 3, a slice of life mystery in part 4, a crime drama in part 5, and a prison break in part 6. The overarching story is also really well-developed through each part, all coming to a head in one hell of a finale in part 6. And the series is also just incredibly impressive artistically, and Araki's style changes in each part. As far as just the shonen arcs go, my favorite artstyle of his was the one he used for part IV. Really, JoJo's is just the perfect combination of great characters, action, story, art, and humor that fits my tastes perfectly. I'm generally not attracted to fighting series in of themselves, but JoJo's offers everything I want and have ever wanted to see in one, and just gets better and better with each part. Stone Ocean alone would rank highly as one of my all time favorite Jump manga, but combined with the other parts in the series, JoJo's has cemented itself as my favorite battle shonen and Shonen Jump series in general.

-------------------------------

In case you're wondering, I decided to leave out Barefoot Gen in my list since it spent a longer time and had more of it's story published in other magazines. If I had included it, it would have ranked between JoJo's and Dr. Slump. Ranking the bottom 5 was very hard for me. I mostly ended up arranging all the currently-running stuff at the tail of the list, since they could still go up and down depending on how they progress in the future. I almost put Bakuman in my list, but since I haven't read the series in a long while and am planning a re-read of it after the prequel chapters finish their run in Jump in two weeks, I decided to leave it out. There's many Jump series that I really want to read sometime, such as City Hunter, Hell Teacher Nube, and Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, among others, and my opinions on stuff go up and down all the time, so this is very much a "how I'm feeling right now" list. Though, having read both Fist of the North Star and Saint Seiya over the summer, at least I've got most of the uber popular Jump classics off of my backlog.  :D
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on September 19, 2015, 08:40:31 PM
Awesome list, CX! I also have a lot of series to finish reading, catch up on, or even start reading, as well.

It's funny. A lot if anime and manga snobs loathe WSJ because of its most popular series, and just don't like the genre in general. I've always found that to be a bit silly, though. The anthology of WSJ is hardly defined by just a few series like Naruto or Bleach. And a shonen can be just as enthralling as any other genre or sub-genre of entertainment if handled by a good writer. In many cases even, like with Ashita no Joe, various works of Osamu Tezuka, Barefoot Gen, and numerous other examples, a shonen series can transcend pre-conceived notions and establish itself as a genuine work of art.

Though, in my mind, even just making a thoroughly entertaining series is an art in and of itself. Dragon Ball may lack overly-thoughtful writing or any intentional subtext to character motivations, but the reason it's so highly regarded by so many people even thirty years after its conception is because Toriyama truly utilized his talent and effort to make for an incredibly joyful ride through the adventures of the various unique characters that he got us to form attachments to. In that regard, Toriyama's art is not so much in trying to create a work that we will overly-analyze, but in literally directing our thoughts and feelings of what transpires throughout his stories (being gags, adventures, or fights), and giving it such a natural flow that it's hard to stop reading his work at any given time. That's a mastery of craftsmanship that few can match, but to me it's what all of the manga on these lists share in common, albeit to somewhat varying extents.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on September 21, 2015, 10:58:32 AM
Now that's a list!

Saint Seiya has always been one I've wanted to experience, but has been quite difficult to get the time and attention to do so. Same as City Hunter, and Dr. Slump (though I have read some of this, it hasn't been a whole lot), but I do think Jump deserves its status as the premiere manga anthology. The amount of quality it's put out over the decades is hard to match.

It wasn't always great, but compared to what was coming out ten years ago, I think Jump is much closer to its ideal now.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on September 21, 2015, 12:33:56 PM
I liked the (NON-JACKIE CHAN) City Hunter movie I saw years ago. Lupin-like, it was.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on September 21, 2015, 09:45:36 PM
Thanks for the comments! I agree Jump has really produced a lot of great, iconic series over the years. And while the lineups have had their ups and downs in the past, the current "New Power Generation" (as I've seen it been called) has been exceptional with the overall quality of new series, and this high point looks to continue for a good while yet. And as far as western fans go, it's never been a better time to keep up or get into series. I'm certainly having a lot of fun reading the english Jump (as well as writing about it) every week, and in general there's been a lot more great ongoing manga I've been keen on reading these days than when I first started keeping up with manga, and the current era of Jump has certainly played a big part in that.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on September 21, 2015, 10:35:07 PM
I might have to check out Saint Seiya.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on September 21, 2015, 10:52:56 PM
I'm pretty sure you'd like it. I'm pretty sure the anime goes in a different direction than the anime does, though. Not like I know enough about it, it's just what I heard.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on September 21, 2015, 11:15:49 PM
From what I've been able to tell, the anime is fairly similar to the manga, but it has a few filler arcs, and some aspects of the anime's filler force some revisions to how certain things originally were and played out in the manga (Hyoga's backstory and his relationship with Camus in particular is significantly changed in the anime due to the addition of the Crystal Saint, who doesn't exist in the manga). The anime also only adapts until the Poseidon arc, but a three-part series of OVAs adapting Hades arc were made in the late 90s through the early 00s, though I've heard conflicting opinions about how good they are.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on September 21, 2015, 11:19:59 PM
I hear they are different. The anime was canceled before the end of the manga due to lack of popularity back then, iirc. I didn't know (or just forgot) that Hades was adapted not that long ago. I'll have to watch it either way.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on November 19, 2015, 02:37:31 PM
Whoa, have you guys seen this before? (http://animation-nerima.jp/nerima-and-animation/animegate/)
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on November 19, 2015, 03:01:54 PM
 :SHOCK:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on November 19, 2015, 03:11:13 PM
Quote from: Avaitor on November 19, 2015, 02:37:31 PM
Whoa, have you guys seen this before? (http://animation-nerima.jp/nerima-and-animation/animegate/)

*Adds to "list of places to visit before I die."
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on November 19, 2015, 04:01:30 PM
Oh yeah, I've seen that before. Looks like a good place to visit.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Foggle on November 19, 2015, 04:46:49 PM
That's so cool! :joy:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on November 20, 2015, 10:56:01 PM
I actually posted pics of the Oizumi Anime Gate in the Shoutbox a couple of months ago. (http://animationrevelation.com/forum/index.php?topic=76.msg89063#msg89063) As a fan of all those series and characters, I definitely find it super cool, and I'd love to visit that place some day. It's especially neat how they have a series represented for a particular decade (AB for 50's, AnJ for 60's, GE999 for 70's, UY for 80's). I wonder who they'd choose if they ever decide to represent 90's, 00's, or a 10's series.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on November 20, 2015, 10:58:21 PM
Goku, Luffy, and dunno on the last one. Those would be my guesses.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on November 20, 2015, 11:11:38 PM
Killua for 10s  :thinkin:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on November 21, 2015, 12:49:49 AM
Son Goku would be the obvious 90's rep (the adult version, specifically). His iconic status has achieved worldwide fame in a way that hasn't happened for any manga character since Astro Boy.

I'm honestly not sure who would be the pick for the 2000's. Luffy is probably a strong candidate, though.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on November 21, 2015, 02:00:37 PM
Maybe a Titan for 10s? Or whoever the main SNK character is. I'm still blissfully ignorant of the series.

I'm sorry that I missed your post, though, CS. But this really seems cool. Also, is GE 999 worth checking out? I know that AnJ is, and that UY is supposed to be as well, and I have the first Astro Boy omnibus in my Christmas wishlist, but I haven't really seen too many people talk about it in my circle.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on November 21, 2015, 02:15:27 PM
It's supposed to be a classic on par with the quality of those other series.

Also, if you do end up getting AB, let me know what you think of the iconic Pluto story-line. ;)
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on November 21, 2015, 06:50:01 PM
GE 999 is a classic definitely worth watching. The manga was never brought over in full and the print volumes of what was released are hard to find, and there are only scans of the first 2 volumes, but the movies cover the core story of series well enough. I really enjoy the tv anime as well, but I haven't watched it in full. I need to get back to it at some point.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on January 15, 2016, 10:54:22 PM
Crunchyroll has a small feature on Tohru Fujisawa. (http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2016/01/15/feature-monthly-mangaka-spotlight-7-tohru-fujisawa)

A lot of interesting information there.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on January 16, 2016, 12:15:53 AM
That was a good read. To me, Fujisawa is sort of like the Stephen King of manga, in that he's a super prolific creator, releasing multiple new works almost every year, but the quality of his stuff can be pretty hit or miss. However, when he's on his A-game, his talent really shows. There's a reason that Shounan Junai Gumi and Great Teacher Onizuka have such a legendary status and widespread appeal. They are both true classics of the delinquent manga genre, and of manga in general.

Stuff like 14 Days and Paradise Lost are, on the other hand, interesting experimental concepts, but ultimately a mediocre deviation from the main series' of the Shounan Universe, tending to miss the point of what made his earlier work so endearing in the first place. Even so, I still have to respect a guy who clearly loves his craft, and is a hard worker through and through....unlike a certain other mangaka that I have a love/hate relationship with. :D
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on January 19, 2016, 09:28:28 AM
Here's something CX would totally dig. (http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2016/01/18-1/shogakukan-releases-2-volume-urusei-yatsura-perfect-color-edition)
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on March 11, 2016, 12:02:00 AM
Found this list of the Best Sellers in Shonen Sunday history (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/08/10/weekly-shonen-sundays-15-best-sellers-of-all-time-show-some-readers-prefer-lovers-not-fighters/)

15. "Rough" by Mitsuru Adachi [15 million] - Total of 12 volumes from 1987-1989
14. "Kekkaishi" by Yellow Tanabe [16 million] - Total of 35 volumes from 2003-2011
13. "Hayate the Combat Butler" by Kenjiro Hata [17 million] - 39+ volumes from 2004-present
12. "Mobile Police Patlabor" by Masami Yuki [19 million] - Total of 22 volumes from 1988-1994
11. "Zatch Bell!" by Makoto Raiku [22 million] - Total of 33 volumes from 2001-2007
10. "Flame of Recca" by Nobuyuki Anzai [25 million] - Total of 33 volumes from 1995-2002
9. "Ushio & Tora" by Kazuhiro Fujita [26 million] - Total of 33 volumes from 1990-1996
8. "Urusei Yatsura" by Rumiko Takahashi [26-35 million] - Total of 34 volumes from 1978-1987
7. "Kyo Kara Ore Wa!!" by Hiroyuki Nishimori [40 million] - Total of 38 volumes from 1988-1997
6. "InuYasha" by Rumiko Takahashi [45 million] - Total of 56 volumes from 1996-2008
5. "Major" by Takuya Mitsuda [50 million] - Total of 78 volumes from 1994-2010
4. "Ranma 1/2" by Rumiko Takahashi [53 million] - Total of 38 volumes from 1987-1996
3. "H2" by Mitsuru Adachi [55 million] - Total of 34 volumes from 1992-1999
2. "Touch" by Mitsuru Adachi [60-100 million] - Total of 26 volumes from 1981-1986
1. "Detective Conan" / "Case Closed" by Gosho Aoyama [140 million] - 80+ volumes from 1994-present

Those are some pretty high sellers. As expected, Takahashi and Adachi take up most of the list, but the others have some pretty good sellers, too.

Though, I gotta say, I was expecting Hayate to be a much bigger seller considering how long it has run for. Only three other series here have run longer and they have at least twice its sales.

On the other hand, it does show that they need some newer hits. The most recent thing on here that isn't still running ended five years ago.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on March 11, 2016, 02:16:23 PM
I had no clue Ushio sold so well.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on March 11, 2016, 05:28:57 PM
Which is funny, since in the case of U&T, Kyo Kara Ore Wa!!, and Rough, there was no proper anime to boost their popularity which makes them doubly impressive.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: VLordGTZ on March 11, 2016, 08:24:24 PM
I'm surprised that Zatch Bell and Kekkaishi did better than Rough, though I guess it certainly helped that they had anime adaptions.

Shonen Sunday hasn't had too many big hits in recent years.  Detective Conan, Magi, and Silver Spoon have continued to get fairly high sales, but Magi is on its final arc and Silver Spoon will most likely be ending this year.  Hopefully, Shogakukan will find a way to re-vitalize the magazine.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on March 11, 2016, 08:55:22 PM
They've apparently been ending a few of their series recently in line with what they said last year about cleaning house and refocusing.

Considering how low their numbers have dropped that's probably a good thing. Think back to a year like 1995 and their current crop doesn't measure up. Back then they were running Conan, H2, Ranma 1/2, Major, Kyo Kara Ore Wa!!, Ushio & Tora, and Flame of Recca all at the same time. I couldn't name that many big series running now, even from creators that have made big hits before. I'm hoping Fujita's new series is something special.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: VLordGTZ on March 12, 2016, 08:31:10 AM
One thing that SS should consider doing is having Rumiko Takahashi end Rin-ne and start a new manga.  It's almost 30 volumes long and it still doesn't have even one-fifth of the sales of her previous SS works (the anime didn't seem to boost sales either).  If she went back to doing more "traditional" comedies or attempted another horror manga like Mermaid Saga (which a lot of people apparently want her to do), I think SS would be able to get another big hit from her.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on March 15, 2016, 10:28:59 PM
Small CR feature on Takehiko Inoue. (http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2016/03/15/feature-monthly-mangaka-spotlight-9-takehiko-inoue)
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on March 16, 2016, 09:02:44 AM
That was a great read, and it really highlights why Takehiko is one of my favorite writers and artists of all time, manga or otherwise.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on May 30, 2016, 11:10:39 AM
Weekly Manga Recap recently did a bonus episode about their all-time favorite fights in manga for patreon backers. (https://www.patreon.com/posts/may-bonus-pod-5532417)

For those who can't download the episode, their picks were as follows:

Nik Freeman/Y Ruler of Time's Favorite Manga Fights (in no order):

Toriko vs. Tommyrod (Toriko)
Seina vs. Shin (Eyeshield 21)
Ruby vs. Norman (Pokemon Adventures)
Luffy vs. Lucci (One Piece)
Rock Lee vs. Gaara (Naruto)
Ichigo vs. Kenpachi (Bleach)
Takamura vs. Bryan Hawk (Hajime no Ippo)
Narushima vs. Sugawara (Shamo)
Natsuo vs. Sanae (Teppu)

Honorable Mentions:

Ichigo vs. Byakuya (Bleach)
Ussop vs. Perona (One Piece)

Chris Larios/RolloT's Favorite Manga Fights:

1 - Luffy vs. Lucci/Luffy vs. Ussop (One Piece)
2 - Jotaro vs. Dio (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
3 - Crowley vs. Jasdevi (D. Gray-Man)
4 - Sanosuke vs. Anji (Rurouni Kenshin)
5 - Rock Lee vs. Gaara (Naruto)
6 - Toriko vs. Tommyrod (Toriko)
7 - Beet vs. Grenade (Beet the Vandal Buster)
8 - Lambo vs. Levi (Reborn)
Jubei vs. Kazuki (Get Backers)
Natsu vs. Gajeel (Fairy Tail)

Honorable Mentions:

All of the Enies Lobby Fights (One Piece)
Deimon Devil Bats vs. Ojo White Knights (Eyeshield 21)
Gohan vs. Cell (Dragon Ball)

Pretty solid choices. Most of these are wildly popular and commonly agreed upon fan-favorite fights, and the less obvious ones that I know here I agree are pretty great.

Might rework my own favorite manga fights list sometime. I'd imagine it'd look a little different than the one I posted a couple years ago.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on May 30, 2016, 01:14:36 PM
Good choices, though the lack of Slam Dunk on either list is a bit of a letdown.

Takamura Vs. Bryan Hawk is my second favorite HnI fight, though I'd still have to say that I consider the Ippo Vs. Sendo re-match from the end of the anime to be the best in the series.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on July 08, 2016, 03:54:39 PM
I always knew that if there's one manga I would ever buy the entirety of in japanese, it would be Urusei Yatsura.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cm0EFkIUsAA-Adp.jpg:small)

My life is now complete.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on July 08, 2016, 03:57:28 PM
Congratulations on completing your collection! :thumbup:

Sadly, my goal of one day collecting all of Ashita no Joe and Dragonball in their original Japanese prints is still at 0% on both ends. :(
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on July 08, 2016, 04:52:00 PM
Thanks!  :)

And believe me, I've been trying to collect the AnJ manga too, but I just can't seem to find any copies of the volumes at a reasonable price... :(
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on August 04, 2016, 07:23:13 PM
Super Mario Adventures graphic novel is coming. (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-08-04/super-mario-adventures-graphic-novel-listed-from-viz-media/.105043)

Anybody who read Nintendo Power remembers this.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on October 08, 2016, 11:46:15 AM
(https://66.media.tumblr.com/c8332a10b040ff94840d3debe2cffdab/tumblr_oeqmj4kNoN1r6toezo2_640.jpg)
(https://67.media.tumblr.com/2028cbf837a18b8eeca0479f52aa7c63/tumblr_oeqmj4kNoN1r6toezo1_640.jpg)
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on October 08, 2016, 01:54:18 PM
Nice!
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Markness on October 08, 2016, 08:05:55 PM
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on July 08, 2016, 03:57:28 PM
Congratulations on completing your collection! :thumbup:

Sadly, my goal of one day collecting all of Ashita no Joe and Dragonball in their original Japanese prints is still at 0% on both ends. :(

Can you read Japanese or is it just to have the volumes? I don't own any Japanese volumes of manga but if I could learn the language, I'd like to own Kongou Banchou and Ushio and Tora if they never get an US release.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on October 09, 2016, 08:39:55 AM
That is awesome, Lum!
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on October 09, 2016, 10:51:24 AM
Thanks! I definitely feel honored and lucky to have been able to meet him.  :) Doubly so that he actually answered one of my questions, since Viz only took four between the Viz and Funimation twitter and facebook.  ;D
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on October 09, 2016, 07:25:04 PM
Quote from: LumRanmaYasha on October 09, 2016, 10:51:24 AM
Thanks! I definitely feel honored and lucky to have been able to meet him.  :) Doubly so that he actually answered one of my questions, since Viz only took four between the Viz and Funimation twitter and facebook.  ;D
OMG, that is even more incredible!
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on November 01, 2016, 06:20:27 PM
I'm very close to collecting all the Flame of Recca volumes. I have to admit it has taken a lot more time than I thought it would. I still have around ten volumes left, but it's been a trip.

Looking it over, they could re-adapt this into an anime easily. However, it would have to be longer than the Ushio & Tora anime due to the whole thing basically being a long narrative string. They would simply have to up the pace. There are four main story arcs, and they are all pretty indispensable. Give or take a few episodes, you could get it all done in 78 episodes or slightly less.

Episode 1-13: Beginnings and Kurei Mansion Arc (Volume 1-4.5)
Episode 14-39 (four chapters an episode): Ura Butou Satsujin Arc (Volume 4.5-16)
Episode 40-52: Sealed Lands Arc (Volume 17-22)
Episode 53-78 (four chapters an episode): SODOM Arc (Volume 23-33)

Unfortunately, this drastically lowers its chances at getting a proper new anime adaption. Investing in a new anime at this point probably wouldn't happen due to the amount of episodes it would have to have, which is a shame. As great a tourney as the Ura Botou Satsujin is, it does not make for a good ending to the story or the characters, and because of the stupid way the old anime ended, there is no chance they can simply start from the Sealed Lands arc and go to the end. It would need around twice the episode count of Ushio & Tora to tell the complete story.

Man, it's such a shame that Pierrot botched the old anime. It really deserved better than the sub-par show it got.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on November 02, 2016, 10:16:34 AM
Thinking about how a studio could re-adapt a manga series as new anime is actually an embarrassing pastime of mine.  :D

It'd be cool if they could re-do FOR, but yeah, six cours might be too much of an investment for a studio to make, even if the series was still pretty relevant in japanese popular culture. It'd be something I'd be interesting in seeing, though.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on November 02, 2016, 10:44:56 AM
Unless they simply ignored the ending of the first series and only did the last two arcs, I just don't see it happening. FoR was huge in Japan and here back in the day. I'm pretty sure a new anime would be a worldwide success, but that would depend on a lot of factors. Heck, I'd even take a 12-13 episode season that only adapts to the end of the Kurei Mansion arc since it would still handily beat the old series. Heck, they could even adapt an arc a year for all I care. All I'm saying is that after Ushio & Tora, Flame of Recca was their second most popular battle series from that era and it would be a shame if it didn't get a similar treatment with a new anime series. Especially since the old one was bad.

Maybe it would also inspire Anzai to try again like the U&T anime seemingly inspired Fujita to start a new shonen. It feels like he hasn't been all too inspired in a long time.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Markness on November 05, 2016, 10:24:52 AM
I bought the first twenty volumes of FOR in a bundle on eBay and got the next six at Austin Books & Comics' Sidekick Store (Their entire clearance is its own store) and Right Stuf. I stopped reading after the Ura But? Satsujin arc but I'll pick it back up later. I didn't know Anzai was an assistant to Fujita until around the time I started reading the series and I like how he makes a reference to U&T by showing Fuko holding a volume of the manga. Is that what made you interested in FOR, Spark of Spirit?
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on November 05, 2016, 07:08:05 PM
I first stumbled across Flame of Recca about eight years ago on a scan site. It was at a time when I was really down on shonen as a whole and where it wasn't in a very good place. I wanted to read a decent shonen, and heard that FoR was a YYH clone (it's not, but that's its stigma) so I started reading it. I didn't even realize until later that it was by the same author of MAR. I don't think you would be able to tell unless someone told you since they're so different. Anyway, I started reading it out of boredom.

What I ended up doing was blowing through the whole series before I knew it. In my mind, FoR epitomizes the best of '90s shonen. There's action, comedy, dramatic stakes, character conflicts and charisma, and a sense of joy that shonen really was missing at the time I read it. I liked that the story really felt like one organic tale that moves from start to finish and doesn't feel artificially lengthened or cut short-- it's exactly as long as it needs to be. To me it's the standard to which I judge shonen. It doesn't do anything wrong, and what it does well it does with aplomb and care. Also, I felt it was a rare manga that got better and better as it went. The beginning of the manga is fun and engaging, but it only goes uphill all the way through the SODOM arc where the climax hits. The ending wraps everything up exceedingly well, too. The series kept my spark for shonen manga alive when it was definitely waning. It's definitely one of my favorite manga series.

When I later learned Anzai (and Makoto Raiku) was a pupil of Fujita, I knew I had to give the Ushio & Tora anime a shot, and it turned out to be one of my favorites. I'm now a fan of Fujita as well. A lot of people called FoR a YYH clone, but other than having a tourny arc (which YYH did not invent) there aren't really any similarities between them. Flame of Recca is clearly influenced by Ushio & Tora and 80s action films more than anything else. It's probably why it dates so well for me. Whenever I hear about people giving it a bad name, it is almost always because of the terrible anime. That's why I started that feature a while back. The manga deserves much better.

The problem with Anzai is that he's a lot like Watsuki. They each did one series which I consider near flawless, then proceeded to stumble on follow-ups. MAR would have been great if he kept to the promise of the beginning and didn't fall into tourney mayhem, and the less said about the mess that was MIXIM the better. I don't know what he's doing now but, like Watsuki, I believe he's capable of so much more. With both Fujita and Raiku recently starting new weekly shonen series (both of which are being received rather well, Fujita's new series is outselling his last by like 3:1) I can't help but feel a little disappointed that he hasn't. But maybe he'll come up with something. Who knows?

So to get to it Flame of Recca has been one of my favorites for a long time. It's in my top 5 manga with Rurouni Kenshin and Monster. It's one of the main reasons I want Ushio & Tora's manga to be licensed so badly. It's why I want it to have a good anime. The series to me is like that one series everyone has: it feels like it was made specifically for me, and that's why it has stuck with me so long.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Markness on November 06, 2016, 09:05:22 AM
Spot on post, Spark of Spirit!  :e_hail: :h_hail: :el_hail:

Another mangaka who went down a similar route to Watsuki and Anzai would be Ryu Fujisaki. Houshin Engi is a classic 90's shounen manga but Fujisaki's later works have been lacking compared to it. To be fair, though, his only post-HE work I've read was WaqWaq and scans for his stuff after that tend to never finish.

I am definitely with you on U&T getting officially licensed. I wish Viz would do a survey so we could submit it on there if possible.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on December 05, 2016, 05:21:05 PM
Let's try the same thing for Get Backers.

There are several ways to attempt a new Get Backers series. The first is to simply continue from where the old anime left off. Get Backers was built to have filler and filler arcs, so the stuff in season 2 wouldn't affect anything here. This would be the best way to adapt it since it would allow more content to be adapted. The second way is to start from the beginning. I'll try to hash it out here.

The original manga has 12 total "Acts", 10 covered in the first 25 volumes and 2 in the final 14. The ending of the series is hated by pretty much everyone which opens the door to simply ignoring the final two arcs or possibly creating an original ending. No one would probably care if they did either. Long story short, the last two Acts will probably never be animated in any revival of Get Backers.

The original anime covered the first six Acts in the first 25 episodes of season one. Season two had some filler, but also covered Act VII. A follow up anime could simply adapt the remaining three Acts and tack on an original ending. This would require the least amount of effort, and would be the easiest to make. So here's how they could do it. Each Act is three chapters per episode.

Act VIII - 13 episodes
Act IX - 3 episodes
Act X - 18 episodes
Retriever's Second anniversary (final episode?) - 1 episode

Add in some filler episodes and you've got a solid 3 cour, 39 episode show. This would be the best way to do a new anime for Get Backers, though I don't know how likely it would be. But it is the best way to adapt more material.

Now let's try something more difficult. If they started Get Backers from Chapter 1, how long would it have to be?

Well, pretty long. Let's try it again with three chapters an episode.

Act I: Here Come the Get Backers! - 1 episode
Act II: Get Back the Moment! - 2 episodes
Act III: Givers and Takers - 3 episodes
Act IV: Get Back The Sound of Life - 4 episodes
Act V: Phantom Sunflower - 3 episodes
Act VI: Return to Infinity Fortress - 16 episodes
Act VII: The Lost Arms of the Goddess - 8 episodes
Act VIII: Divine Design - 13 episodes
Act IX: Marine Red - 3 episodes
Act X: The Eternal Bond - 18 episodes

That's at least 71 episodes. And that's cutting interludes from the series, of which there are four plus some backstory. It would require a lot of effort to start from scratch, even if you adapted more than three chapters an episode. If you already include the original anime with the last three Acts, this would add up to 88 total episodes of anime. That's pretty good as it is and shows that the old stuff doesn't really need to be redone.

How likely do I think a new Get Backers anime is in this day and age? Well, higher than it was a few years ago. The new revival craze sets it up really well to have a new project. Get Backers was really popular back in the day and the anime lasted 49 episodes which only ended because it caught up to the manga. If there's a candidate for a new anime project for an old property, Get Backers would be a good choice for one. Let's just hope they wouldn't start from scratch.

If you want to know why I didn't include the last two arcs, it is because they would take up this many episodes:

Act XI: Voodoo Child - 8 episodes
Interlude: Rest - 1 episode
Act XII: Get Back the Lost Time - 30 episodes

Yes, it would require 39 episodes on it's own. Throw in the fact that it's widely detested, and you can see why I didn't bother including it. Not going to happen.

Anyway those are just my thoughts.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on April 01, 2017, 07:59:42 PM
So as of late, I've been getting interested in manga, and have been wanting to build a collection akin to my comics collection. So I've been going through some of the series I've been interested in, and have been wanting to read again, and I want to try to collect these at some point:

Inoue's trilogy of awesome (Slam Dunk being my first priority- I'm not sure if I mentioned this yet, but I read scans for the first 15 or so chapters of it after finishing AnJ, and absolutely loved it)
Tezuka's stuff (Buddha and Astro Boy seem easiest for now, but I'll try to get to what I can as I go along)
Maison Ikkoku
Berserk
20th Century Boys (But I'm mainly waiting for a VizBig edition of the series, ala Monster)
Excel Saga
Dragon Ball

And as you guys may know, I do have all of Monster and A Silent Voice, as well as some Kenshin and am slowly starting to also collect One Piece. I'm pretty behind in the world of manga, so I want to educate myself a little better.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on April 01, 2017, 08:14:39 PM
Great choices!  :thumbup:

Excel Saga and Maison Ikkoku will be a little challenging to collect since a lot of their volumes are out of print now. I was pretty fortunate to have been able to get all of ES for as low as I did, since prices for the entire series on eBay now can range from 300-400+ dollars, and I still haven't been able to collect all of MI yet. I really hope Viz will try rereleasing it in an omnibus format sometime now that they're done with the Ranma 1/2 omnibuses.

I'm also holding out on omnibuses for 20th CB, and I'm hoping those will be in the pipes after they finish releasing Master Keaton.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on April 01, 2017, 08:21:10 PM
I'm finding a lot of MI volumes on Amazon for decent prices. Not all of them, though. But you're right, omnibus/VB edition would be preferred.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on April 01, 2017, 09:59:16 PM
Awesome! Those Dragon Ball VizBig editions are the best way to go. Just like with Rurouni Kenshin and all of their other VB releases, they are of the utmost quality, and Toriyama's simple yet highly expressive artwork shines particularly well with the big pages allowing for each panel to have a refreshing sense of space about them and between them. On that end, one major criticism I have for the Astro Boy Omnibi are how small the pages are, which makes the artwork feel far too cluttered in many of the early issues of the series before you get to the late 70's and early 80's era of Astro Boy stories which featured much broader manga panels that Tezuka eventually adopted, more akin to the modern style of manga in general. While I have no doubt that this was done to keep the cost down, I personally wouldn't have minded paying a few dollars extra per omnibi in order to have more comfortably sized pages, but I can't complain too much since I feel lucky that we got this at all. This was clearly a loving treatment of the series by Dark Horse in order to cater to fans of Tezuka in the west, as few as there are. They clearly knew that they couldn't make too much profit if any off of such an old series that's practically obscure in the west to anyone who didn't grow up in the 60's.

As for Takahashi manga in general, I'm noticing that both Inu-Yasha and Ranma 1/2 are very easy and affordable to collect (relatively, for the long-running series that they are), but literally everything else doesn't get much attention from Western publishers and distributors when it comes to her larger body of work.

As for Inoue Takehiko's manga, I never see them in retail book stores, but they are very easy to find online for reasonable prices.

I was also going on a manga and comic book collecting spree myself, a few months ago. I eventually had to stop because I was just spending way too much, and while not technically going past my realm of affordability, I had accumulated so much stuff that I'm still catching up in trying to finish reading what I got.

And then Nioh came out and that's been eating up all of my reading time as of late. There's just too much good stuff out right now. :sweat:
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on April 01, 2017, 11:41:47 PM
I see Vagabond here and there, but Inoue's stuff isn't as easy to find in retail, yeah. Slam Dunk's another one that I would kind of prefer to wait for a VB edition, but Viz only recently finished releasing it, and while it must have done at least decently to be finished, I don't think sports series are a big enough deal to it to demand a rerelease. At least so soon, but who knows.

Oh yeah, I got a bunch of Manga Vision books from the 90's at a comic book shop last week, for only 50 cents each. I got all of the ones they had that contained chapters of Black Jack in them, and the first of them has the last chapter of Takahashi's Rumic Theater. I'll go through the contents soon, but I'm primarily interested in Black Jack.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on April 04, 2017, 11:25:25 AM
Crunchyroll put out a really good article on why MHA is so good. (http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2017/04/03-1/feature-found-in-translation-the-death-of-superman-in-my-hero-academia)

There are spoilers for season 1 of the show, so be warned.

It's a good take on what is one of the overarching themes of the series, and why I think it makes it one of the best shonen stories to come around in a while. Here's hoping the anime is able to bring more people around. It really has a universal appeal. MHA could easily show Marvel how it's done since they've apparently forgotten.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on April 04, 2017, 11:11:25 PM
Happy Birthday, Akira Toriyama.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on April 12, 2017, 01:56:16 AM
Have you guys (http://abload.de/img/manga-chart-finalqcckp.jpg) seen these before (https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3912/15229802082_bebf3a6032_o.png)?

What are your thoughts on them?
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on April 12, 2017, 09:00:29 AM
A lot of those are nowhere near must reads. But the series you probably heard of already are worth being on there. If you're going to include Shonan Junai Gumi and not have Today It's My Turn, well, that's just odd. X is Clamp's best work, but like, there's no ending so...? No Rurouni Kenshin, Ashita no Joe, Rokudenashi Blues, or anything by Mitsuru Adachi, are also glaring misses.

The anime one is a bit better. But there are head-scratchers. I mean, there's no sense in having Patlabor 2 be the only thing from the franchise here. The only must see Gundam series is really 0080 to see if the franchise is even for you at all. The lack of Macross, Trigun, Yamato, Escaflowne, or the series they actually removed at the end hurts it a good deal. There's also a few series that are really obscure that most will not like at all.

Tread carefully with both lists.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on April 12, 2017, 02:02:04 PM
There's some good stuff on here, and a couple of things that have my head scratching. But I am curious about some of the ones Im not as familiar with.

And it looks like some of the people who made this list, according to their MALs, are AnJ and YYH fans, so I'm surprised that they're missing.

As for Gundam, the original and Zeta are my favorite full-length series, so I support their inclusion. But I do feel that the best primer for the franchise, primarily UC, is the MSG trilogy and 0080, especially as the changes to the MSG movies are considered canon now. If you want to watch the series instead, you might be fine, but these are my personal recommendations.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dreamer2 on April 12, 2017, 02:21:54 PM
Michiko & Hatchin? Really? Very well might be the most boring show I've ever watched. With terribly uninteresting characters. Even if I don't like stuff like JoJo or Madoka, I can kind of understand why some people would think they're important, but not M&H.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Foggle on April 12, 2017, 02:43:06 PM
I think Michiko & Hatchin is great. Sayo Yamamoto is one of my favorite anime directors and the soundtrack & artwork are awesome. I can easily see not liking it, though, and her Lupin III series would have been a much stronger inclusion IMO.

Overall, I'd say the anime list is pretty good, but it could be better of course. The manga list doesn't include Excel Saga so I don't care about it. :P
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: LumRanmaYasha on April 12, 2017, 04:37:08 PM
Neither of these lists have Urusei Yatsura on them, so they are invalid by default.  :>

Nah, these are fine lists, and a good starter pack of recommendations, but not all-encompassing of the best the mediums have to offer, and I'm sure they're not designed to be. The only thing that bothered me is Patlabor 2 specifically being on the anime list while the rest of the franchise is ignored, which is a pet peeve about people putting that movie on a pedestal the same way they do UY2: Beautiful Dreamer as the most worthwhile and representative iteration of the franchise. Patlabor 2 has interesting social commentary of post WWII Japan's pacifism and criticism of the JSDF as a misused military force and its inability to combat domestic terrorism, but it has almost nothing to do with the concept of patlabors and the practical ramifications of using mechas for labor and law enforcement, which is the main appeal of the franchise. You also get way more out of the movie if you've seen it in context with the rest of the franchise, at least the OVA series and first movie, so watching it alone isn't the best way to absorb everything worth appreciating about the film.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: VLordGTZ on April 12, 2017, 04:47:09 PM
Quote from: Foggle on April 12, 2017, 02:43:06 PM
I think Michiko & Hatchin is great. Sayo Yamamoto is one of my favorite anime directors and the soundtrack & artwork are awesome. I can easily see not liking it, though, and her Lupin III series would have been a much stronger inclusion IMO.

Agreed!  :thumbup: 
The Woman Called Fujiko Mine still remains my favorite Lupin series as well as one of my favorite anime, but I will admit that her work certainly isn't for everyone.

In regards to the lists, they honestly they feel like very long "favorite anime/manga" lists rather than "essential" ones.  It also bothers me that the manga list has a lot of multiple series from the same creators.  But yeah, while they both have a lot of great series on them, they're definitely missing some big ones, especially Ashita no Joe.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on April 12, 2017, 06:40:53 PM
Patlabor 2 is really good, but I prefer the first one. It's just far more rewatchable.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on August 05, 2017, 06:43:08 PM
So Jump Tsum Tsums are a thing now? (http://highdio.tumblr.com/tagged/jump-all-stars)

I've been collecting Disney Tsum Tsums on and off for a while now. I've been losing interest in them a little, since the best ones go to the Disney Store and rarely infiltrate the parks or Target anymore, which is my main mode of purchasing them. That said, a friend got me the Rescue Rangers set from D23, complete with the crew in the Ranger Plane!

But damn, they have Yusuke and Hiei! I want those and some others so bad.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on November 27, 2017, 12:10:50 PM
Wasn't quite sure where would be best to post this, so I just settled for here.

At any rate, THIS (http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/shonen-jump-reveals-poster-90s-retrospective-exhibition/) is an exhibit that I would love to visit if I could. Also, that's an awesome poster.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on December 06, 2017, 05:31:02 PM
I understood the aim of this article (https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2017-12-06/the-most-underrated-shonen-jump-manga/.124886) until I saw the last three entries.

KnY, TPN, and DS are all new series currently gaining popularity and sales every day. They're currently poised to be Jump's next breakout hits. They should have instead included material like MxO or Psyren that deserved more push than they ultimately got.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on December 06, 2017, 08:29:04 PM
Dr. Stone looks and sounds good!
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on December 06, 2017, 09:22:58 PM
It's a nice little list. As for the last three, to be fair, this list is clearly meant for an English speaking audience, most of whom probably aren't up to date with currently running Shonen Jump titles.

That said, I really wish Hinomaru Zumou was on here rather than just getting a brief mention at the end, as that series truly deserves more attention than what it currently gets.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: VLordGTZ on December 07, 2017, 01:09:00 AM
I'd argue Kimetsu no Yaiba, while huge in Japan, is relatively unknown in the US outside of the core Jump community.  The manga doesn't seem to be talked about much online, and some people don't even know that it exists.  It's a real shame since Viz could have easily built hype for it, if they had picked it up right away once Shueisha's heavy push for the series became apparent.  Dr. Stone and TPN, on the other hand, have no reason to be on this list.  Sure, they don't have anime yet but they already have a ton of buzz surrounding them in the US.  Even if this was sticking to simply licensed Jump manga, choices like Muhyo & Roji and Whistle would have been far better.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on December 07, 2017, 05:51:39 PM
Or even talking about non-Jump Shonen manga like Souboutei or Be Blues which sell really well in Japan and get no attention at all would have been better.

I don't disagree that any of the series are bad, but if you want to highlight unknown series, well, you could go a lot deeper than current and soon-to-be hits.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: gunswordfist on December 08, 2017, 12:14:37 AM
Literaly the first time I've ever heard of Dr. Stone.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Spark Of Spirit on December 08, 2017, 01:04:25 AM
It started this year. It's a series by the writer of Eyeshield 21 and the man behind Sun-Ken Rock. Dr. Stone really does feel like a combination of the two of them.

It's gonna be a while before it gets an anime, though. In the meantime, you might enjoy Kimetsu no Yaiba. That'll probably be getting an anime by the end of next year.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on December 09, 2017, 12:24:38 PM
I've had my issues with some of SEW's videos lately, but this look back at what Shonen Jump was like 30 years ago is one of the better ones that he's put out in a while: https://youtu.be/wIh85_bCudk
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: VLordGTZ on December 09, 2017, 12:46:26 PM
Yeah, this was a far better effort than his previous Jump video! My only gripe with it is that he seems to brush off the importance of Jump's 80s gag manga at the end by claiming they've been forgotten by time, which is simply not the case.  Sannen/High School Kimengumi ran for 26 volumes in total and had an 86 ep anime plus a movie.  I think that's enough to say it was a success (he also wasn't aware that Sannen and the movie have English fan-translations).  Plus, both Kimengumi and Tonchinkan are available on digital platforms (https://bookwalker.jp/series/114240/list/) like BookWalker and Ebook Japan (https://bookwalker.jp/series/18139/list/), so it's not like they aren't accessible nowadays.  They just aren't fully translated like the vast majority of gag manga.  Still though, those are only minor problems since the core focus of his video was the masculinity aspect of 80s Jump manga, which he handled quite well.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 27, 2018, 06:49:11 AM
It's at times like this that I envy those who live in Japan: http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2018/02/26-1/shonen-jump-opens-50th-anniversary-jump-library
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on February 28, 2018, 06:05:18 PM
Thank you, Super Eyepatch Wolf: https://youtu.be/zFFru4q_4H8

Wish more anime YouTubers would view the series in this light instead of just remembering the flaws from its later arcs.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on May 25, 2018, 11:47:03 PM
I saw that Uniqlo had 50th anniversary Jump shirts, so I went to the local one at Disney. I was worried that they'd have just the basic stuff for the west- DB, OP, Naruto, Bleach, Death Note- but there were plenty of different series. From some that have no stateside presence otherwise like Kochikame, Cobra, and Captain Tsubasa (seriously, when will we get a legal stream/similcast?) to ones with limited presence such like Gintama, Prince of Tennis, and Kinnikuman/Ultimate Muscle.

To most exciting for me- YYH and HXH! I got a shirt with both versions of Kurama, and one of the Phantom Trope. They also had one of Yusuke and Kuwabara, which didn't excite me as I own a cool fanmade shirt of them as Vincent and Jules from Pulp Fiction (one of two unofficially made YYH shirts I own, the other of which I'm retiring for looking too bootleggy), and one of Toguro, which looked great but wasn't available in my size. There was very few of that one left, which I hope means that it's a hot seller.

These use actual panel and original artwork from the mangakas, and are well worth a look. I also want to note a lack of Kenshin. Which is probably for the best.
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: VLordGTZ on May 27, 2018, 03:34:27 PM
Yeah, the Uniqlo shirts are awesome!  On Friday, I went overboard and ordered the Kurama YYH, Captain Tsubasa, Rokudenashi Blues, Fuma no Kojiro, Cobra, Kochikame, and Dark Magician YGO shirts.  :sweat:

The next wave in July is also looking pretty cool (I definitely want that shirt of Raizen from YYH).
Title: Re: Favorite Manga
Post by: Avaitor on May 27, 2018, 04:49:10 PM
I'm going back on Friday, and may pick up the Kochikame and/or Cobra shirts just for the hell of it. I've only skimmed some of the next wave of shirts on their site- I'll probably wait to find out what they are when they arrive. I just hope Slam Dunk's a part of it.